Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha AlternateS
by Saint X
Summary: A force powerful than any before, threatens to not just destroy magic, but also the cosmos itself. What are the 'Sealed Devices? And how does Nanoha fit into into all of this of her being called the 'Heiress of Gospel? A fanmade path to StrikerS
1. The Beginning of a new Crisis

Hello people! this foreword serves as a warning that this story is an AU happening (hence being titled AlternateS)- due to StrikerS showing next year- but the N x Y pairing will be enforced, due to it being indicated in A's. Some shoujo-ai will be in but dont expect something good - i'm still new to this kind of lineage.

Standard Disclaimers Apply, so there!

"..." - Speaking, thoughts or quotations in narration

'...' - Quotations or quoted items in speech or thought

Underlined - Emphasis A- minor

**Bold **- Emphasis B- serious

**Combined** - Emphasis C- grave, really grave

_"attack!"_ - Devices talking

* * *

# 1: The Beginning of a new Crisis 

Downtown Uminari City, Country of Japan, Earth 2:36 PM.

"We are live here from downtown, where the city is currently under attack! Police and the SDF are powerless and it seems that eight strangers are currently the city's only defense, as they have the same abilities as those of the attackers…" the reporter on site could only say as beam blasts, explosions and clashes erupted and passed by her. "And we are still trying to determine anything over here!"

The reporter and her crew were also trying to escape the sudden and mysterious attack, trying to head for their van. Suddenly, the camera's lens caught sight of a stray energy beam heading towards them. But then, instead of hitting them, something or rather, someone was standing in its way- a girl with twin tails tying her reddish-brown hair, in a white and blue barrier jacket, holding a pink staff with a red orb framed in gold.

"_Protection Powered…"_ The staff spoke, releasing a barrier which confronted the shot.

The shot hits the barrier directly, preventing the shot from coming thru, but the force of the impact still affecting those being shielded, namely the girl and the TV crew. The girl shielding the crew was pushed back by the time the shot's duration was over, putting her beside the crew and into the lens range of the camera. They suddenly hear something drop and look at the floor- a pair of shading goggles was there, strap ripped from the force of the impact. The cameraman tuned his camera at the now "unmasked" girl, the images not only being shown live in the unharmed (and fleeing) parts of the city, but also around the country and the world, shocking those who have known the girl's other identity- now they know who she really is.

"Na-Na-Nanoha!" several people who were watching were shocked, seeing that the girl they know and the one of the city's current mystery defenders was one and the same.

"What are you still doing here?" Nanoha asked in a somewhat commanding manner, aiming her staff at the sky. "Get out of here while you still can! Raging Heart!"

"_Axel Shooter…"_ The staff once again spoke, displaying the command on its interface orb.

"Shoot!"

Immediately, eight beams issued from the end of the device, aimed at who or whatever that had fired the beam, too far to be seen by the naked eye, but a camera's zoom could- it was a figure in black, also holding a staff, though from the distance it was not easily discernible. The target also raised a shield, but to no avail, the magical beams hitting it in all directions, sending back it to the nothingness from which it came. Nanoha and the camera then spot a green streak chasing two more black ones.

"Yuuno- kun…" she spoke before her device beeped.

"_Load Cartridge…"_ The device spoke another command.

"Drive Ignition!"

"_Axel Fin- Hypersonic…"_

They were taken aback as a mechanism on the base of Raging Heart's ornament body suddenly ejected an exhausted cartridge and were further taken aback by the sudden eruption of pink light wings on the shoes of the magical girl. And with a slight bend on her knees, she jumped high and flew off at high speed, joining with the green streak in its battle. Meanwhile, the TV crew was surprised, happy and scared at the same time.

"Did you get that?" The reporter asked her cameraman, unknown that it was recording and broadcasting at the same time. "Who could she and her allies be?"

"I can't believe it" the cameraman commented, composure somehow restored. "That was our neighbor…"

"Who?"

"Nanoha Takamachi."

* * *

Eighteen years ago, Scrya Clan Complex, Karus Continent, Planet Eiron, Midchilda, 8:00 AM. 

It was a rainy morning and a bit too cold for Kyla Scrya. The woman of 24 went from her bed to the bathroom to fix herself, leaving her husband Mirtho or Mertho as he was often called to sleep. From the bath, she headed towards the kitchen to check on what available food was there to start breakfast. But as she opened the refrigerator, she hears something- a faint cry. But being in Midchilda, or her hailing from the mystical planet Jurai, even the faintest cries can mean anything- even the end a world if worse comes to worse.

"Mertho… Mertho… wake up dear." Kyla began to rouse her husband from his sleep.

"Huh? Is breakfast ready yet?"

"That is not the issue here… come on… seems there is something outside."

Then the cry reaches his ears, making him alert and sit on the bed. He then proceeded to the front door and upon opening; they were greeted by a flash of light. The couple could not believe what they are seeing, a figure in a white hooded robe- a shining white one, was there, settling down what seemed to be a basket, about a few meters from the house, in the rain. The figure knelt over the basket and teardrops begin to fall. After that it revealed itself- she was crying as she looked at them. And as sudden as it happened, the woman vanished into light. Quickly, Mertho rushed to the basket, for he was expecting the one thing a crying mother would leave in a basket. And he was right, for it was a baby that the basket was carrying. He was also surprised because the child was not even wet from the rain, only a few spots from tears were there.

"It's dry… that could only mean one thing." He thought as he moved his hand closer to the basket.

He had expected something, and he was right and wrong at the same time- right because his hand was stopped halfway in its transit towards the basket- indicating a barrier; and wrong because his hand was repelled moments later- indicating a repulsion barrier; a spell done with high magic, the reason why the rain has not soaked the infant. He again tried to get hold of the basket but the barrier kept impeding him, forcing him to call his wife.

"Kyla, it's an infant…" he spoke to his wife, who was at the doorway. "He's protected from the rain by a barrier, but it also stops me as well, I can't even pick the basket up.

His wife giggled instantly, making him wonder.

"What?"

"You know…" Kyla replied, setting up her own rain barrier and heading out towards her husband. "It's raining, and the barrier was just trying to shield the child from harm- the least you can do is shield it from the rain silly…"

The man was simply dumbfounded- the solution was really, really, so simple that a child can answer it- oh, silly him. He stepped aside as his wife neared the basket, kneeling over the shielded child.

"Simple Jurai logic actually… you can't move a shielded object unless the thing or person the object is being protected from is removed.

The downpour was now starting to really pour, making the woman's barrier's field more pronounced, now not only shielding her, but by virtue of her kneeling, included the basket, whose barrier has simply vanished. She then proceeded to pick up the infant from the container, which stopped its cries at the moment Kyla's hands touched. She instantly recognized the child to be a boy, which made her smile.

"I've always wanted to have a son…" said the woman a bit sadly. "Or to have child for that matter… but alas, my body could not handle the burden…"

"Maybe, this is the divinity's answer to that problem my dear… come on, we must let the matriarch see him…" Mertho replied, making his wife look at him.

"We will, but you will earn her ire if you came in like that- all soaking wet…"

"I know… Grandma- I mean Grand Mother will be furious… I'll go get changed."

Ten minutes later, matriarch house. Mertho and Kyla enter, proceeding towards the meeting chamber, where the Scrya Clan Matriarch was facing a serene painting, Mid-type magic formation on the place where she was standing.

"What brings my favorite grandson in my presence?" the matriarch greeted them and stopped her spell channeling.

"Grand Mother…" Kyla began to speak. "We have found this outside…"

And once again the infant began to cry, as if he were announcing his presence. The matriarch began face them and hurried towards the child.

"And where did you find this child?"

"Out in the rain Grand Mother…" Kyla again replied. "A figure in shining white had laid the basket where we found him a few meters from us, and has also set up a protective shield over it and the child- a shield so powerful that the basket cannot be moved unless we shield the child from the elements."

"A figure in shining white?" the matriarch alarmed. "Could it be?"

Quickly, the elder began to perform a series of handseals, before saying the following words:

"Reveal yourself…"

Instantly, some formations began to appear on top of the child, and it was not just the Mid-type, for another formation was using the Mid-type as its center, making the compound formation a rather complex one- a Mid-type with additional lines added.

"Just as I thought…" the matriarch spoke, as the spell was ended.

"What is it grandmother?" Mertho asked, forgetting protocol and being stunned.

"That boy has divine blood… the impossible ability to be familiar to two or more magic forces at once- just like you Kyla…"

"But I'm a full-blooded Juraian, and I only acquired Mid-type magic during my marriage…"

"What my grandson here had said is right you know… that boy may be the answer the divine had for your plea. You have picked him up, now you are going to raise him and teach him our ways…"

"As you wish, Grand Mother." Kyla replied, bowing.

"So my dear, what name will you bestow upon our child?" Mertho asked.

"I am feeling a bit homesick of my world, so I'll name him in my native tongue… and since he's well protected when I found him, I have decided on a name for him. The Juraian word for protection…"

"And that would be?" the matriarch asked.

Ten minutes later, back at Mertho and Kyla's house. The couple return with their new child when Mertho suddenly notices a pendant on the neck of the newly- christened child.

"Honey… come look at our child… he has pendant similar to what you have found- could it be?"

Kyla examined the green jewel cross-shaped pendant, carefully noting detail. And then…

"_La nouvelle présence a détecté… (New presence detected)"_ a disembodied, artificial, yet female voice issued somewhere from Kyla's chest. _"Le dispositif de compagnon a également détecté… (Companion device also detected)"_

"Are you sure, Vulcan?" Kyla asked, taking out what seemed to be another cross shaped pendant this time brown in jewel color.

"_Oui, Madame… (Yes, Madam) Je confirme que le dispositif de compagnon est l'espadona… (I am confirming that the companion device is the 'Espadona')"_

"We have another one…" Kyla thought. "Three out of the nine- Gladius, Vulcan and Espadona… but this is not enough, those six remaining Lost Logia must be found at the least, but if we could find Gospel first…"

"_Est-ce que Madame, je peux demander le nom de l'enfant que vous avez apporté ici? (Madam, can I ask the name of the child that you have brought here?)" _The brown cross jewel pendant known as 'Vulcan' asked.

"He's named from the Juraian word for protection, for he was protected with a very strong barrier, the least his mother can do in her finality…"

"_Et ce serait? (And that would be?)"_

There was a bit of silence before the new mother responded…

"Yuuno… and he shall be the faithful and loving shield of his fated someone…"

* * *

Seventeen years later, Time-Space Administration Bureau Patrol Warship TSABS Silvana, on route to area 213 of the Terran Sector- just behind Earth's moon, where reports have been coming in about illegal spatial warping experiments. The bridge was particularly busy at this time- as always in prep-ups. But the Silvana was unlike any of the other patrol warships of the bureau, first of all, it was not designed in the standard form of any of the other ships in the fleet, it was rather designed like a fish rather than the twin hulls of its fleetmates- the reason, it was the only Lost Logia ship ever uncovered, retrofitted to the TSAB's standards after being examined, checked, rebuilt and qualified for use. As a Lost Logia, the ship had tons of technologies that were even incomprehensible even to the smartest of midchildans, but they have managed to decipher most of her workings by the help of then plank owner and now captain of the ship- a member of the Scrya clan who found the wreck. The most amazing part of it was, that the ship's most powerful weapon ignores any magical barrier that the target might put up- even some shield types that can survive a shot from the powerful Arc-'en-ciel cannon were no match to the Silvana's Tannhäuser cannon. 

"Arrival to target point in ten minutes…" a male voice came in the lighted bridge.

"Good… lower the bridge and prepare for combat." A female commanding voice replied- this voice was apparently the captain. "Spool up the Sigma Wing System and call in Minerva… she'll be needed here."

The platform holding about five seats began to lower itself into a much darker room- the combat bridge of the Silvana, where more post seats were there.

"CIC, status?" the female once again asked, this time directed towards the seat nearest to where the male- apparently the vice-captain went to.

"Systems all green and ready for your command. ECS and FCS online…" the CIC chief reported.

"Engines all green and at optimal output…" someone from engineering replied. "All shielding systems are all okay for deployment…"

"Bring the ship to condition red! All personnel to level 1 battle stations!" the captain then barked the command, which the radar / communications officer promptly executed, by ringing of the ship's red alert klaxon and telling the ship of its current status. "Where is Minerva?"

One of the two combat bridge side doors opens, revealing a teenage female with blue hair and blue eyes, dressed in the bureau's female specialist uniform.

"I'm sorry 'mam!" the girl replied, attracting the attention of the entire bridge crew, captain included. "I was… I was…"

"That's okay Minerva; now go… we'll be arriving at the target zone in five minutes."

With a nod, the teen touched the central door and entered into the space it protected. Moments later, the paneling of what was used to be the central door and above it became transparent, revealing a Minerva floating in some strange clear liquid, apparently undressed but the sensitive parts covered by some of the remaining panels. Minerva is also a Lost Logia- the Silvana's main AI, also found with the ship in that same container she was floating in right now.

"All systems green… activating Tristans, Isolde and Valiant cannons…" the teen's voice, now seemingly mature, echoed in the bridge. "All missile tubes have begun spooling, all defense systems and CIWS are online… Sigma Wing System is fully operational and ready for use."

The activations were confirmed via the ship's viewscreen and the various monitors on the various terminals inside.

"Captain… incoming communications…" the comms officer replied.

"From where?" the captain asked, wording who would call at such a time.

"The Asura…"

"Great… patch it thru."

Immediately, the image of the current commanding officer of the TSABS Asura, Chrono Hallaoun appeared.

"Captain Hallaoun, what circumstances made you to call the good ship Silvana?" the captain asked.

"Admiral Kyla, long time no see…" the teenage boy at the other end replied back- he was so like his father.

"Likewise Captain Chrono, likewise… so, what hails you to my good ship?"

"We have received the broadcast from headquarters and that we are also near to the vicinity of the target zone… may we request that the Asura join in the operation…"

"Admiral Lindy's orders huh?" the ship commander sighed, knowing that the green-haired head of the TSAB was noted for being seriously funny and for making people sigh. "Well then… I'll be sending you the specifics of the operation, and I'm warning you and the other ships that might help in- stay away from the Tannhäuser or in our way for that matter- you all know that this ship is specialized…"

"Very well then… good luck…"

"We don't need luck…" the admiral replied, making the bridge crew look in anticipation; for those words were the starting line of the ship's motto. "For the Silvana will never sink thru hell or high water, thru even the most evil of evils or even the most idiotic of situations… and the only day this ship will sink is the day peace and order is restored… Admiral Scrya out…"

"That was unusual…" Minerva commented. "_The_ Asura, calling us? Of all ships?"

"Even the most decorated of ships need help or come to help sometime… and even the luckiest and best of ships come into bad luck… but the Silvana- cheers…"

"All systems are now in combat readiness…" Minerva then replied. "We are ready…"

"Thank you Minerva… the targets?" she then asked sensors.

"They are still in normal space, apparently, with the resulting distortion, they know that we are coming…" sensors replied.

"And the only thing they don't know about is when and where…" the vice-captain then added. "And with the Sigma Wing, we can dive in and out as we please…"

"Fine then… prepare to dive out of hyperspace…"

"Yes 'mam…"

Immediately a soft-toned barrier surrounded the ship and at the bottom seemed to tear at the hyperspace boundary, interacting like if it were an aquatic ship hull.

"Dive out!"

Thirty minutes later, the intense battle was over, with all of the targeted ships disabled and their crews taken prisoner. Though not one life was taken during the battle, it was at great cost to hardware- namely the Asura, for it had taken the heaviest damage- being a noted ship also has its detractive factors- as in being the target of the entire enemy force- it was almost curtains for Chrono's ship if it hadn't for one of the Silvana's protection systems, the Iron Curtain, a powerful shield that can be applied to any ally, and only shield capable for blocking the Silvana's own main gun.

"I'm really sorry for what have happened, Kyla, Chrono…" the image of TSAB Chief Admiral Lindy Hallaoun spoke, after hearing her son's statement. "And I feel sorry for the Asura too…"

"Every ship has its bad day… and I'm personally feeling a bit gratified that my ship will be towing the Asura back to base- though I'm tempted to use the Silvana's transport systems- they're much faster, way faster…" Admiral Kyla replied.

"Amy, what's our status?" Lindy then asked the Asura's vice-captain / information officer.

"We have damages to the hull, magical defense systems, engines, computers, and even the Arc-'en-ciel is totaled… about three months of repairs at the least…"

"Come back to headquarters to explain the situation and to await matters on this, is that clear?"

The two ship commanders nodded.

* * *

Same day, Uminari City, Sakuradai Seaside Park, 5:30 AM. OL-3 (Lieutenant Commander) Nanoha Takamachi of the TSAB Special Forces was standing in the middle of a secluded clearing, the place where she had been practicing on her own for seven years now. From first impression, she seemed to be of no connection to the bureau or a complete civilian, but if you have stayed with her long enough, you would have suspected that something's up. 

"_Axel Shooter… practice mode…" _a disembodied, artificial yet female voice came in softy from somewhere, prompting the teen to throw not one, but four used juice cans, gathered from a six-pack she always carried to and from the park.

A bead of energy began to form on the now extended right-hand pointer finger, as well as the pink colored mid-type formation at her feet.

"Shoot…" the teen said softly, allowing the energy bead to shoot out into eight individual beams.

The beams began to hit the cans, keeping them in suspension, as the artificial voice began to count each hit.

"_100… 141… 172…"_ the voice continued the count. _"350… 531…630…1000…"_

With that number, Nanoha pointed her finger towards the waste bin, directing her magic beams and the cans towards it. The first two cans went in perfectly, while the third hit the rim before going in but the fourth one was way too short of the goal. It had almost missed the bin entirely if it weren't for something hitting it. The can went in and a steel ball landed in the grass in exchange- that meant only one person, one sometimes hot-tempered and bunny-loving Velka Knight.

"Vita…" Nanoha turned to greet. "Good morning…"

"_Good morning…"_ the same artificial voice greeted in, and then something from the inside of Nanoha's shirt reveals itself- her device Raging Heart Excelion- the source of the voice.

"_Selben zu Ihnen… (Same to you)"_ a metallic voice issued from the ruffles of Vita's shirt- Graf Eisen.

"What brings you here?"

"Actually, to run errands for Shamal- Mistress Hayate had slept late doing her homework so Shamal is taking care of breakfast…" Another, this time a somewhat gruff male voice came in from below their sight lines.

Nanoha looked down and saw what she had expected, a blue-haired, somewhat wolfish puppy- it was Zafira alright.

"The one from calculus?" Nanoha then asked, since said mistress had called her the night previously.

"Well something like that…" Vita replied, shrugging. "I could have helped her easily, but she always insisted on doing it by herself…"

Then, a sudden wind blows, somehow triggering a reaction to the devices on site.

"_Alarm! Ankommend! (Alert! Incoming!)"_ Graf Eisen alerted.

"_Warning, unknown detected!"_ Raging Heart added.

Both mage and knights jump away at the place they were standing on moments before and they were quickly replaced by a lot of implanted light streaks on the ground.

"What the? Light arrows?" Vita alarmed, remembering one previous mission, and one very skilled Corite archer hailing from a planet called Novus, who almost peppered her with holes, even with her trusty panzer-type shields on. "Graf Eisen!"

"_Aktivieren… (Activating)"_ the mallet-shaped pendant on the knight replied.

"_Standby ready… Set up…"_ the seemingly normal-looking ruby pendant of the combat mage responded.

And so they changed into their barrier jackets, devices fully active and out. By virtue of their training (or programming, as with Vita's case), they spot a speck just above them, again flashing and then seeing light arrows heading towards them once more. They split up, improving their chances and somehow, Vita was not being trailed by the arrow storm- it was instead, trailing the still running Nanoha. She flew up fast, flier spheres at the ready

"_Schwalbe Flieger… (Swallow Flier)" _the metal mallet responded, with the knight setting up the spheres and hitting them hard.

As four energized metal spheres headed towards the unknown, it in turn noted the approaching attack.

"Ballista…" he spoke in a cold voice.

"_Évasion… (Evasion)" _the device on his hand, an X-shaped bow with light around the edges, replied in a male artificial voice.

He quickly moved to one side, and where he had been previously, the four spheres now passed. And once again he evaded the attacks the spheres were trying to make, even to the point of dizzying Vita. Back on the ground, Nanoha had stopped as soon as she noticed that the arrow rain had stopped following her. Seeing Vita attacking the unknown, and it evading, she decided to help.

"_Axel fin…"_ Nanoha's device spoke, before pink light wings came out of her shoes, allowing her to fly.

Back at the battle site, the four flier spheres were now picking up pace, making the unknown archer evade ever faster. Vita had enough of the chasing and primed her weapon's cartridge system, enabling it to transform into the deadly rocket form.

"Rocket Hammer!" she yelled before slamming her weapon towards the unknown enemy, flier spheres following.

"_Garde… (Guard)"_ the bow spoke, just as it deployed a hazy sphere of air around its user mere milliseconds before the hammer or the flier spheres came in.

Graf Eisen hits, as well as the flier spheres, the hazy barrier the unknown projected. And for the first time, the unknown looks at Vita with bloody red eyes, really bloody red and blanked eyes.

"Velka-type huh? You are weak…" he spoke, before shattering the barrier, sending the spheres and Vita in an explosion cloud which surrounded them.

"Vita!" Nanoha almost screamed as the explosion produced a result, Vita falling from hit and slowly recovering.

"So there you are… heiress of Gospel. Ballista, multiple shot now…"

"_Oui monsieur, a multi tiré… (Yes sir, multi shot)"_ the bow, now identified as 'Ballista' replied as the archer drew on the light bowstring and aimed at the white mage, releasing multiple arrows at once.

The light arrows split up and began not just to head for Nanoha, but at Vita and her spheres as well. The arrows had hit the spheres first, then skimmed past Vita, injuring her with skim slashes and then continued towards Nanoha.

"_Round Shield…"_ Raging Heart replied the intended command when Nanoha raised her hand; that is to protect its mistress.

The moment the shield was up, the arrows began hitting at it, but instead of deflecting or being blocked, the arrows, to Nanoha's amazement were embedded in the sigil shield.

"What the?" Nanoha alarmed.

"Heh… as expected from Gospel's heiress…" the archer thought before once again repositioning his bow to a stance more akin to holding a combat weapon as opposed to a bow it normally is. "Claw mode…"

The device replied, turning from bow into a claw weapon with beam blades. With that on his hand, he quickly dashed towards Nanoha, who was still trying to reach Vita's (or for that matter everybody else's) line and still in wonder as to why their unknown enemy had so much power. Nanoha was shocked to see him approaching, drawing on her shield, but was surprised to what happened then.

"_Panzer Hindernis… (Tank Shield)"_ a sudden voice, followed by a flash of red, suddenly came into view, hindering the assault- it was Vita, recovered and now to the defense.

"Tche… this guy is unreasonable!" the hammer knight grunted as the barrier resisted the strike. "Who are you!"

"You are strong, emissary of Velka… but I will not answer to your kind of force- only one who is worthy or has enough right will I answer to…" he replied, before his device followed suit.

"_Briseur Quadratique… (Quadratic Breaker)"_ Ballista replied, energizing his punch and breaking the shield, as well as sending Vita towards the sea.

"Vita!" Nanoha now screamed, seeing the splash vanish, and the archer flipping back and settling infront of the white mage, level with her, claw reverting to bow form and the person somehow bowing.

"Forgive me for my sudden treatment…" the archer greeted. "But I do have my priorities… Greetings, I am Rein… keeper of one of the Sealed Devices, the salient bow Ballista. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Heiress of Gospel…"

"'Heiress of Gospel'?" Nanoha asked; mystified as to what is happening, or what the now identified stranger was saying.

Just then, another figure managed to get close and aimed a fist- Zafira. But he was easily stopped by Rein's bare hand.

"Another huh? There must be something in Velkadia that makes you people so stubborn…" Rein then spoke and pushed the guardian away. When his nuisance was set a good distance, he then spoke the following words. "Open the gate…"

Minute streaks of energy gathered at his palm and from nothing a sigil the likes of which was never seen before by any Mid or Velka-tuned person appeared. It comprised of two concentric rings, the inner smaller than the outer by about half, with directional diamond arrows placed at one-third of the circumference of the rings, counter-rotating all the while. Strange letterlike symbols also ringed around along the circumferences of the two rings- letters of incantation that are unknown. And the most shocking bit, it was colored black.

"Shadow Edge…" Rein spoke, his sigil issuing blades of dark energy towards the guardian beast, hitting him all over and sending him towards the sea as well, though with lesser force than Vita's entry.

Nanoha was simply standing there, frozen to the spot, as if she were strapped to a table. And once again, Rein turned to face her, with all distractions gone.

"As I was saying…" he then turned back to speaking, making sure that no one was even near them. "Try as you might, you cannot call for help, nor do anything against what is about to happen… for I have raised a barrier that unlike what you have experienced before. Look below us…" he then motioned down, making Nanoha look with worry and shock afterwards.

Beneath and behind Rein was part of his black sigil, extending left and right beyond them- as if the entire locked field was under the influence of this still unknown type of force. She tried again to contact anyone in the vicinity or even snap Vita and Zafira out of their knocked out state, but to no avail- either the barrier was already strong or they were still down for the count. Then she spots the archer backing away, bow aimed and tried to give chase, but she could not move- she found herself in the confines of a mysterious bind.

"And as I was saying… your death will be the most effective and useful way to achieve our goals, heiress…"

"_Préparez pour être détruit… chargement de cartouche… (Prepare to be destroyed… cartridge loading…)"_ his device Ballista responded, a mechanism similar to the Velka-type cartridge system engaged. _"Surmenage! (Overdrive!)"_ It then followed, cylinders near the handle engaging, gathering more energy.

He then aimed and drew his bowstring, streaks of energy gathering near the place where the arrows usually come out in a beam bow, with Nanoha still struggling to break free, unknown to her that streaks of energy were beginning to build at her feet, where her mid-type magic usually is placed.

"She's starting to synchronize…" Rein thought as his sigil appeared in the middle of his charge. "Must destroy her before it happens…"

"_Projectile destructif… (Destructive Shot)"_ the bow replied as its archer released the string, sending the highly energetic arrow towards the white mage.

"Must break free… I must…" Nanoha thought as she saw the flash of release.

She began to weaken the binding, unknown to her that just at her feet, more energy was building up. And then, a sigil similar to Rein's appears beneath her but this time in her natural pink color, followed by the bind breaking and the rapid vanishing of the strange seal. Nanoha then sees the shot a mere second before raising her hand to deploy her round shield. And then something blocks her view, a figure in a strange gray combat suit, holding a huge tube like thing with handles and stock- it looked more like a gun. The stranger then raised a hand and said.

"Agile Shield!" the stranger spoke- a she.

Then a familiar formation appears on the woman's palm- mid-type magic, but then something came in as well, another sigil appeared, using the mid formation as its center, forming an intricate border that counter-rotated the mid sigil's main ring- on four points were indications that they were the elements- a flame, a drop of water, a lightning bolt and cube while the writing that encircled the outside of the mid formation was a recognizable one- similar to the Greek characters on the mid sigil. The shot hits, but the sigil shield was unfazed. When the attack was finished, more of the woman came into view- she had long blonde hair- similar to a close male friend with glasses. Then a familiar voice came in.

"Nanoha, are you okay?" someone male came in, making the girl look behind her.

"Chrono, what are you- what is going on here?"

"I don't know- but apparently the Silvana's sensors were right…" he replied, taking out his device, Durandal. "Only she knows…" he then spoke, pointing to the woman up front.

"Just as I thought… it is you… Salient Archer!" the woman yelled to the archer.

"If it isn't the Resonate Gunner…" Rein replied with a smirk of sorts. "Another keeper… Vulcan and Gladius I suppose? And I see you don't have the Shielding Berserker with you… Espadona's holder. But you're in luck- because I think you know who you just saved…"

"Shut up… I'm here to get that device and turn you in for murder- and attempted murder while I'm at it…"

"Try me… and I might as well kill two birds with one stone…"

And the two sides look at each other with apprehenshion, waiting for the other to make the first move- the first mistake.


	2. The Explanation of the Crisis Begins

# 2: The Explanation of the Crisis Begins

Previously:

"If it isn't the Resonate Gunner…" Rein replied with a smirk of sorts. "Another keeper… Vulcan and Gladius I suppose? And I see you don't have the Shielding Berserker with you… Espadona's holder. But you're in luck- because I think you know who you just saved…"

"Shut up… I'm here to get that device and turn you in for murder- and attempted murder while I'm at it…"

"Try me… and I might as well kill two birds with one stone…"

And the two sides look at each other with apprehension, waiting for the other to make the first move- the first mistake.

---

The silence was simply deafening as the two sides looked at each other, still anticipating.

"Chrono…" Nanoha mentally spoke with worry "Vita and Zafira are…"

"We know…" the mysterious woman replied. "But we can't pick them up just yet…"

Meanwhile, Rein was smirking as he looked on, carefully drawing his bow and releasing a multi shot moments later. Nanoha's group sees the flashes and began to move, readying their shielding.

"_Protection Powered…"_ Raging Heart responded, shielding Nanoha.

"_Ice Shield…" _Durandal replied, shielding Chrono with a round plate of ice.

"_Bouclier agile… (Agile Shield)"_ the gun replied, activating the same sigil shield that protected Nanoha.

The arrows hit the shields, burying themselves in Chrono's, blocked in the woman's and reflected back from Nanoha's. Rein was surprised to see some of his arrows returning back, making him jumpy on the dodge, allowing a few to skim him, to the disbelief of Chrono. Fazed, he did not see the next incoming until it was a bit too late.

"Vulcan, Hammer Fist mode!" the woman called and her device responded, wrapping the woman's shooting arm and closing the barrels- turning it into a somewhat makeshift knuckle, since it was already a heavy metal cylinder, those were the only actions the device took.

Rein looked and he saw the business end of the woman's device, hitting him square in the face and sending him towards the sea, but not before seeing a pink light burst heading towards him- Nanoha and the others had mentally agreed that she would fire off her divine buster when the woman came near to the enemy. He barely dodges the shot, further speeding up his descent but with a smirk on his face.

"You may have beaten me this time, but I am not defeated!" Rein yelled as he plummeted back first. "We will take control of the Sealed Devices and destroy the Heiress of Gospel! Mind you, I will be back!"

And with those words he vanished into his own barrier sigil lines, shutting it down as it happened.

And with the barrier's disappearance, came in worried voices over the psychic line.

"Nanoha, Vita, anyone there?" a somewhat cold and worried voice came in- Chrono's stepsister Fate.

"Fate…" Chrono replied, as Nanoha kneeled, exhausted. "We don't know yet, but someone just attacked Nanoha, Vita and Zafira…"

"I'll contact Hayate and proceed there at once…"

"No need…" The woman came in the line. "Call her and the other knights and let the Silvana do the rest, contact us when you gather them…"

"The Silvana? What happened to the Asura?"

"The Asura's trashed right now, even the transport system is down- repairs are on going and she's getting towed back to base…" Chrono replied, sounding kind of regretful.

"Be ready in thirty minutes or less- I supposed one of the other knights may have noticed already…" the woman, known to Chrono as Admiral Kyla replied, somehow managing to see Vita's shopping bag. "Silvana, it's me… are you ready?"

"Yes 'mam, ready to transport your group and we have locks on the others for later…" a somewhat mature teen voice that was vaguely familiar to Chrono came in.

"We need priority since we have injured…" Kyla again spoke, seeing Vita and Zafira surface, the guardian beast shaking off water while Vita spouted some from her mouth- both frustrated. "May it be organic or data-based…"

And with that, a strange glow enveloped all those affected, making them vanish from the scene and reappearing moments later in the transporter bay of the Silvana, with medics standing by to take Nanoha and the two velka knights. Nanoha had fainted in the course of the transport and had to be quickly taken to sickbay, while the two others resisted for a bit until they too were forced to lie and be taken as well. Chrono followed them while the admiral remained, with her vice-captain.

"We failed to track his movements… as expected from a Dei-type user like him. And we also noted some anomalies from Lt. Takamachi just before you entered the zone…"

"I saw it…" Kyla softly said, starting to walk. "That sigil… she might start synchronizing later on. We all know of her record, one of the three youngest mages in the bureau's history, and with power ratings comparable to that of our past youngest- Peach- one of the only few that ever possessed at least two types of magic. In fact those three are starting to exceed Peach's final ratings when she left the service for marriage- after that we lost her completely, even the records were removed."

Upon finishing of the speech, the two end up in the cruising bridge of the ship, just above the combat bridge room- the command platform- one holding the seats of the captain, sensor, communications and the first helmsman has been raised.

"Status of our pickups?" she then asked communications.

"Two more minutes… they are having difficulty waking Lt. Yagami up…"

"Tell me when they are ready… I'll be in sickbay- and yes, take over." She replied and pointed to the vice captain. "Teleport us to base when they are here- think of this as your final qual…"

"Yes 'mam…"

Moments later she reappeared in sickbay, taking to the doctor.

"How is it Doctor Chandra?" Kyla asked the resident doctor. "How are they?"

"For the two knights, they are sure tough, given their programming… I almost can say that they are almost like computer viruses…" the doctor chucked a bit. "A few bruises, cuts, some water in the lungs and damaged egos… that will take just a day or two. As for the other girl, she's simply exhausted, with the sudden engagement and such. It's kind of amazing but, there is a slight anomaly in her linker core- it seems like…"

"There are two forces, right? And they are trying to synchronize, am I right?"

"Seems to look that way and…"

"Captain, we have comms from HQ- seems that the chief librarian is trying to reach us." The communications officer resounded throughout the ship. "And our pickups are ready…"

"Okay…" Kyla replied, tapping the comms button on a panel near them. "Tell the chief to wait for five minutes… and pick up our people and set transport destination to HQ."

Back at the transporter bay, Hayate Yagami, Fate Hallaoun, Signum and Shamal appear on the platform. Then, the Silvana, with the Asura behind it being towed by light lines, also began to be surrounded by the transport glow and instantly vanished. Moments later the two ships reappear just outside of the docking area of TSAB HQ- Macross Base. Immediately, tugs began to gather towards the Asura, taking the tow lines from the Silvana and starting to part them, the Asura in a dock beside the Silvana's. A few minutes of maneuvers and the Silvana was set, the access tubes finally shutting airtight- the Asura was still taking time, since it was being moved carefully by the tugs. Immediately upon opening, someone barged in thru the middle tube, with a worried look on his face, shoving personnel away as he headed to sickbay. Infront of the door to sickbay, that someone and the ones that were transported meet.

"Yuuno… what are you doing here?" Fate asked. "Have you…?"

"I heard it while I was submitting a report to Admiral Lindy."

"We also heard what have happened; we hope to get a better picture…" Signum replied.

The sickbay door opens and the group comes in and heads towards Nanoha, Vita and Zafira's beds, the two knights were already sitting, while Nanoha was still down, making the chief librarian of the Infinity Library worry. Moments later she began to open her eyes.

"Nanoha? Nanoha…" Yuuno began to speak softly.

"Ugh… Yuuno? What are- what is- where am I?" she managed to speak and tried to sit up.

"Accura…" a sudden voice came in, a warm glow surrounding Nanoha, making her feel normal again.

They all look and see it was the admiral, hand outstretched, with a mid formation closing. "I have always wanted to do that… And now that you are all here, better explain our current situation…" the admiral again spoke. "I'm Admiral Kyla, and you are in the sickbay of the Silvana…"

"This ship along with the Asura had participated in an operation an hour ago to stop illegal spatial experiments near the Earth's moon, and the Asura took most of the damage, even the transport system was down…" Chrono explained. "We detected something unusual but since given the state of the ship we used this ship's resources instead, hence finding Nanoha and the others…"

"But what happened?" Hayate began to ask, as Vita was still trying to get off the bed. "Who attacked them and why?"

"They are called the Black Army…" a mid sigil appeared in the air beside the admiral, showing Admiral Lindy's image. "They are a group or should we say; an army of negative mages. This group has been in existence since time immemorial, always in the shadows, waiting, hoping…"

"And now, they have found what they are looking for…" Kyla then came in "The Sealed Devices…"

"Yes, I heard of him- Rein… he said he was a keeper of a Sealed Device…" Nanoha came in. "What exactly are they…"

The group was silent, as they tried to think; even Yuuno was unable to think clearly. In the meantime, Kyla was looking at him gently and somehow had fit something.

"The sealed devices are relics- Lost Logia dating from before the establishment of either the Mid or Velka-type magic… they are in a sense, the objects representing the foundations of magic in the entire cosmos. Anyone with control over of them can shape the very magical forces themselves to their will, thus rendering other magic useless. Like the case with Vita- she couldn't even push on the barrier but she was easily pushed away. They have no affiliation with any form of magic and hence, can be controlled by anyone who has the capability."

"This case is a Class X situation, long assigned to Admiral Kyla." Admiral Lindy spoke up. "Ever since she came in to us years ago, her focus is to stop this Black Army and restore the devices- we saw firsthand what they could do… we just found out that they were the ones responsible for reprogramming the Tome of the Night Sky into the Book of Darkness…"

For the first time, the pure anger can be seen on the faces of the four guardian knights, while the others, particularly Chrono were stunned- they have only heard of the class X designation in stories and in archives, but the sudden reality of a case much worse- four times as worse than the book made them think.

"But that was one of their more failed ventures…" Kyla quickly spoke, as not to further ignite anger and instead fuel interest. "Their real objective is to acquire all eight devices, with the hopes of bringing out the most powerful of the sealed devices- the divine staff Gospel. In legends, Gospel is known as the staff of life and death, beginning and end… and only one can use it. It has been also said that it was created from a different magic from ours and we have identified the magic used in it- Terra-type.

"'Terra'- as in Earth?" Hayate asked.

"One and the same…"

"In Velka space- Velkadia…" Shamal began to speak. "There is a legend about the origin of our force- that it was created from another form…"

"Thank you for that information… and it is true; all magic came from Terra-type- even the ones the enemy and one of you use…"

"One of us?" Yuuno asked, somewhat worried- making Kyla worried as well.

"Miss Takamachi, what did your attacker say about you?"

"'Heiress of Gospel'…" Nanoha spoke. "That's what he called me- 'Heiress of Gospel'…"

"Did you just say 'Heiress'?" Admiral Kyla asked suddenly. "But that means… Miss Takamachi, please stand yourself over there…"

Nanoha complied, standing on the open spaced between them and the door. Then Kyla performed the same handseals that the matriarch had performed, and said…

"Reveal your true skill and identity…"

Instantly, Nanoha's Mid sigil appears at her feet; and a few seconds later, something appeared that even shocked Nanoha herself- overlapping her usual seal was the same seal as the enemy archer's but in the same color as hers.

"What- what- what is happening? What does this mean?"

"Peach…" Lindy spoke. "It's the same as Peach's…"

"What did you mean- Peach?" Chrono wondered.

"Peach is the youngest person to serve in the bureau…" Yuuno then spoke, drawing from reading tons of personnel records. "With the same capabilities as Nanoha- she was in fact, Raging Heart's previous owner…"

"You seem to have found her file…" Kyla spoke. "That explains part of the reason why she was called the heiress- usually; ownership of the sealed devices was passed by blood if it were kept long enough- according to lore…"

"But how about those two seals that we saw?" Fate then asked...

"Nanoha apparently has the other seal before she acquired Mid-type magic… it might have existed since her birth but was never brought out, only now with the appearance of one with similarity has it started to come out."

Nanoha remembered what Yuuno had said to her years ago- on having natural talent.

"But nonetheless, we know that they are after Nanoha… for inheritance reasons or not… we must stop them…" Admiral Lindy spoke as Kyla left the sickbay. "I should not be telling this, but like the book of darkness with me, the sealed devices have also affected her in a more personal way- she lost her husband and her son ran away because of them…"

Yuuno was looking kind of sad, hearing the story. He then closed his eyes and visions began to pour in, visions of bodies and blood, prompting him to open them once again.

"Are you okay Yuuno?" a somewhat composed Nanoha asked.

"I'm okay… it's you I'm worried- in your case…"

"Would the Chief Librarian, Miss Takamachi, Miss Hallaoun and Miss Yagami please proceed to the captain's office immediately…" the PA system came in, with a voice that Chrono knew- and dreaded.

"Mi- Mi- Minerva?"

"And yes, Chrono- kuuuuunnnn! Wait for me there!"

All of them look at him.

"What?"

Minutes later, the people who were called arrived at the captain's room, which upon opening, looked like a dojo. They were surprised to see the admiral and her combined sigil, apparently she was mediating.

"Ah… I'm glad that you guys came here…" she then spoke, as a robot table flew in, bearing pancakes. "I called you here to tell you a much clearer story of the events that led to your attack."

Then from her feet, a velka sigil appears, along with a ball of light on her hand, turning into one thing that they knew- almost- a book.

"That's…" Hayate alarmed.

"It may be, but it's not…" Kyla replied, now holding and opening the similarly designed book. "This is the Tome of the Night Sky's twin… the Tome of the Blue Sky. This relic has been in my clan for generations- as storage of all information for later reference and study- much like the Night's case with magic and linker cores- this very tome can easily accommodate the contents of the Infinity Library- which I was supposed to do after the raid on the illegals since it now has a librarian. What is your name?" she spoke and then asked Yuuno teasingly.

"Uhm… Yuuno Scrya…" he replied, somehow could not keep his eyes fixed on her.

"Well then, welcome back…" she replied. "And congratulations, you know that you should have celebrated with your friends or at least you came back home…"

"But… but…" he stammered, making the three girls look at him and the admiral.

"With three girls, you haven't chosen yet… how shameful…"

"But… But…"

"Say it… you don't have to be shy about it."

"Uhm… excuse me?" Nanoha tried to cut in, but then the admiral knelt beside him and held his face in her hands, making him red.

"Well then- I have no choice…" the admiral then hugged the boy tightly. "As expected from my son… congratulations."

"Mo- mo- mo- mother!" Yuuno could only blurt out, embarrassed, with the three giggling.

Moments later, with a Yuuno in the corner- embarrassed- Kyla was smiling.

"I've always wanted to do that to my son…" the admiral beamed, sipping some black tea (Nanoha: finally! One who drinks tea right!) "Embarrass him infront of people and especially girls. But as I was saying…" she then turned a serious tone. "I called the four of you give you a more detailed version of what had just occurred and of the past that was connected, that's why I brought out the tome of the blue sky out."

"About the sealed devices?" Nanoha asked.

"About the other types of magic?" Yuuno asked, returning to seat beside Nanoha.

"About who attacked who?" Fate asked.

"And about Nanoha's condition?" Hayate finally ended the string.

"All of them…" the admiral answered all four questions. "Plus a bit more- and I'll also be telling the others about this…"

She then began to browse thru the tome, right to left as opposed to its twin, which was left to right.

"Ah… here it is…" the admiral spoke. "Memory…"

"_Projizieren (Projecting)" _the tome replied, in a male voice in the same tonal as its twin tome before it (she) became Reinforce.

The scene that the group was seeing then suddenly changed- they were like in a movie or in the filled pensieve of Harry Potter lore. The scenes flash quickly, but slow enough for them to comprehend, filled with images of creation, cooperation, arguments, destruction and all sorts of things.

"It was an untold number of millennia ago before the establishment of the formal dimensions, where all of space and time were in unity, magic in this time, now known as Terra-type was the primary driving force- but as with all 'unified' things, there were some deviant and some against it. All of the contradicting thoughts, forces and emotions eventually gave rise to the Great Schism- the event that settled the cosmos into its current state- that of multiple, unique dimensions instead of a unified space. With the contradicting energies of various entities, the unified cosmos began to split into nine opposing ways, giving rise to the current structure of the cosmos, the…"

"Fractal cube…" Yuuno cut in his mother's talking. "A central dimension surrounded by 26 others- nine primary opposing ways- front and back, up and down, left and right, front left to back right, front right to back left, upward left to downward right, upward right to downward left, upward front to downward back and upward back to downward front…"

"Just as the Infinity Library had thought you… correct." The admiral beamed a bit before proceeding once again. "With the state of the cosmos going awry, a group of nine powerful mages had decided to use all of their will, skill, know-how and magic in order to at least stabilize the cosmos. Slowly and surely, they began to find hallmarks in the cosmic energy that are stable in all the dimensions- travel between them is hard, given that the borders between dimensions were still being formed and they can fall into an eternal blank space or be destroyed by the collapse or formation of new spaces."

"Using their abilities to the fullest and sometimes in the worst of conditions, they began to extract these stable energies and imprison them into special crystals that were created from the immense energies of the creation of the dimensions- these 'holymetal' crystals were then placed in devices to handle their immense power. With the schism completed and irreversible, they have managed to stabilize the cosmos due to their plan. And to maintain that compromised stability, they have hidden those devices in various parts of the cosmos, hoping that they would not be found. But with the split in the cosmos came in splits along various energies- and thus the variation of magic. From what we now know as Terra-type magic, three other 'children' emerged from it…" she continued, now projecting an image of the complete and true Terra-type sigil.

Aside from the intricate border Nanoha had seen, a more intricate formation was now filling the middle (where the mid was) - somehow loosely based on the Mid-type. To be more precise, it was an intricate cross, glyphs on the inner surface of the bordering circle, holding both touches of mid and velka. The cross in its drawing was itself intricate, each of the four arms unique- akin to velka. And the cross itself was encased in one of the more familiar items- the two overlapping squares of the mid formation, the tips of each just touching the inner glyph line. Then to one side and below it, two familiar drawings appeared- those were the Mid and Velka formations.

"And so the mid and velka magic stemmed from terra, both compliant and deviant forms- they signify the two aspects of combat- confrontational and ranged. But…"

Then appears the sigil from the attacker and Nanoha- on top of the terra drawing- the product was that the terra drawing was the middle of a simple web- with the mid, velka and the still unknown drawing around it.

"And this is the type that is against the Terra-type…" Kyla spoke, pointing to the fourth formation. "It is called Dei-type, from the Terran Latin word 'deus' which means 'god'- also outlining the objectives of the form- to become gods. It was once was a closed from, until forty years ago, when the youngest bureau mage, Peach suddenly manifested with it."

"Peach? Who is she?" Nanoha asked.

"Only you came second in the age when it came to her- she came to the bureau at age ten. She displayed tremendous power, second only to you, Fate and Hayate… in fact, she was the previous bureau holder of Raging Heart. She also had a partner clerk named 'Raven' at the age of 20 and they later married five years later, and that's the end of their record; for after that, their records jointly vanished, without any trace whatsoever…"

Back on earth, Uminari City, Takamachi Residence. Nanoha's father Shiro Takamachi is seen emerging from a secret door on the floor of the family dojo, with some weird light showing from the opening. He then proceeds to close the door, while his wife, Nanoha's mother Momoko, approaches him. He then nods to his wife and the two exit the dojo. And so the admiral continued her detailed explanation of the events surrounding the sealed devices, and how the 'Black Army' had gotten hold of one and the incident that made them turn a Class B case into a designation that was created just for it- Class X.

"And now I have given you all the details, I am asking for all of your support in this- not just for the sake of existence, but also for the life of Nanoha…" Kyla then spoke, standing up.

"But… it does not answer the reason why they are after me…" said girl replied.

"If they say that you are the 'heiress', then someone next in line with suited characteristics is definitely the army's leader…" Fate deduced. "We must find him or her and deal with immediately- unless he or she points a weapon at her, we have the hand in stopping her…"

"Well then, I will tell the knights and then proceed from there…" the admiral then spoke, as she exited from the room. "I have some matters to attend to after that, not just concerning this case, but also the operation we have done prior to our detection of the attack against you. With the Asura down for at least three months, the guys at hangar are thinking of retrofitting the ship so that might take much longer- Admiral Lindy's going to make them run wild with her ship."

An hour later, in Lindy's office- after the discussion with the knights and with them trying to pry poor Chrono from the clutches of the Silvana's main AI Minerva- who was hugging him tighter than Lotte Lieze throughout the lecture, the said poor captain was shocked at what his superior mother said.

"Me, on the Silvana?!!"

"Yes, you heard that right… did you captain Hallaoun?"

"Yes…"

"The reason why I have assigned you there is the fact that the Asura is down for the count and there are no reserves expected within the next quarter, plus I don't want you to be bothered by long leaves so I assigned you to the only ship whose command structure allows two commanding officers at once- the Silvana. Unfortunately, I couldn't assign Amy there as well; being newly promoted to vice-captain and also one of the plank owners of our ship- her knowledge in her workings will prove useful if not valuable in the retrofit- though I will try to put her near you at every opportunity."

"I understand admiral…" Chrono replied, with a somewhat downed feeling.

"And there is an added bonus, if you managed to survive commanding the Silvana, you're then qualified for the fleet admiralty."

"Eh? Are you serious?"

"I am serious…" another voice suddenly came in thru the opening of the doors- it was fellow admiral Kyla. "And since you were also involved in the attack, you might be placed in a deeper field work than you had usually experienced- as with Admiral Lindy has said, we may have to use 'that'…"

"'That?'" Chrono gulped.

Thirty minutes later, on the Silvana's loading bay. Chrono had on tow, via a hovertrolley, his things from the Asura. Behind him were the rest of the guys- Nanoha, Fate (who was still giggling after the Minerva incident), Hayate, Signum, Shamal, Vita and the two familiars, Zafira and the just arrived Arf.

"Ah so there you guys are…" the admiral- in- command greeted them. "I should say that welcome back to the Silvana- for the third time…"

All nodded in agreement. The reason why it was their third entry into the said ship was that their first time was actually their mission to stop it- since the TSAB found the relic running amok in a shipping lane, shooting every ship that came within range and disabled them. It was a real problem- almost a Class A case if it weren't for the zero fatality rate. It took all ten of them (the above list- just add Yuuno) to infiltrate the ship- the Velka knights fighting off the external defenses, namely in the form of barrier- piercing weapon turrets and defense drones, Fate, Hayate and Arf to clear internal defenses in other spaces and the last three, Nanoha, Chrono and Yuuno to infiltrate the heavily defended bridge. Upon entering the combat bridge, they had found the sleeping Minerva inside the interface capsule, computer viruses raging throughout her body and giving her nightmares, causing her to go berserk and cause trouble in the first place- the evidence was that her screams were heard, and at full volume at that. Even Yuuno's quick mnemonical abilities were of no match to the superb technology of a Lost Logia- in short, he could not decipher the releasing password. The only choice then was to break the capsule- not risking Nanoha's attacks in such a confined space, Chrono resulted in using Durandal instead, cooling the metal and glass to the point of shattering. Just as he was about to hit it, the capsule broke, showering him with glass, metal and cold liquid, followed by the construct's body falling on top of him. Moments later she woke up and the rest was history- ever since then at every opportunity, she tried to cling on to him and glomp him every time.

Chrono remembers that occurrence once again as a blue-haired, blue-eyed female in a bureau specialist uniform appears beside the admiral.

"And this is Minerva, our ship's main AI and systems administrator." She then introduced the newly arrived, as said construct saluted to them in a traditional Terran military manner. "As you can see she's deeply steeped in the military traditions of her previous ownership- one thing we cannot remove besides her life- a part of her personality I suppose."

"Hi I'm Minerva…" the construct then introduced herself. "Please feel free to ask me during the tour of this ship's spaces… so that you will be accustomed to being inside for your tour of duty…"

"Tour?" Nanoha asked.

"Accustomed?" Fate followed.

"Tour of duty?" Hayate then asked.

"Admiral Lindy has not only assigned Chrono, but also its whole fighting detachment- Lyrical Team and Wolkenritter Team… from the Asura to the Silvana- since the Asura could not be used as a command post for the current case- dealing with the Black Army and finding the Sealed Devices." Admiral Kyla spoke. "We also have enacted on a ground base on Earth- namely the admiral's condo and associated safehouses… but that detail will come to pass later on as the next week begins. And before we tour, Minerva…"

"As tradition aboard this ship, all officers to be stationed here are to presented with a set of uniforms that bear the coat of arms of this ship, as well as a set of insignia pins and markers… we have been given permission to provide a more distinctive color than the rest of the bureau fleet, with the ship being of special importance. Transport…"

And with that command, boxes appeared infront of the newly arrived. Each person, even the familiars had one, a two feet gray cube with the ship's insignia on it- three horizontal bars of decreasing length from the top, with two diamonds on the top and bottom middle, with the words "LHM-BB03" on the top bar, "Silvana" on the middle and "IGSF-TSAB" on the lowest bar- all of it in silverwork. Nanoha picked hers up and opened it, revealing the same form of clothing that she uses in the bureau- her uniform (mind to you its not her barrier jacket), but with one special exception, it was flat dark gray. She then lifted the top to look at the sleeves, where a more complex but similarly designed insignia was there in silver thread. She peered back in the box and looked at the compartments; they were filled with silver rank pins- tailored for the rank of the person using it- which in Nanoha's case (being a Lt. Com.) was a cross. Also included were miniature versions of the Silvana's insignia, meant to be pinned as a standard.

"Well then, leave them boxes there and we'll proceed with our tour of the ship…" the admiral then spoke, eyeing Nanoha's mysterious interest in the wardrobe and in the admiral's own clothing as well. "Welcome to the Silvana… the 'all-killer'…"

"All-killer?" Vita asked, as the one of the doors opened, the one that was aligned with the loading bay.

"That's because we take no consideration when battle comes, we tell other ships to move out of our way, that's because we will shoot at them and without hesitation…" Minerva replied.

And so the tour of the ship began. It was a wonder from every angle; clean, shiny and having high upkeep- it was comparable to the Asura. They also noticed that each door had a signboard in the image of the ship's insignia, with the name of the room (if non-quarter- like the cafeteria) in the middle, the name of person and his / her rank (if officer) and what kind of room it was (for non-ranking (below Lt.) enlisted personnel). The three girls and the female familiar had their own common room, as well as the knights and the male familiar. Yuuno had his own, close to the Intel room and Chrono occupied the room of the ship's former vice captain- who was now the proud commander of a new ship. And then they began to tour the engineering spaces of the ship, transporters, engine, reactor and finally another engine room, which piqued the new vice-captain's interest, for in all of his readings of engines, he had not encountered one like he was seeing right now.

"Ah this…" the admiral asked, looking to where her new subordinate was looking. "This is known as a 'Claudia Engine', though we call it the 'Cloud Drive'- this is the last part that we haven't explained yet- the last piece of this relic. But despite its mysterious ways of operation, this drive is our atmospheric levitator."

"'Atmospheric'…" Shamal then raised a hand. "Does that mean…?"

"Correct, one thing that sets aside this ship from the others is her ability to fly in the atmosphere."

"And she really goes fast in air…" Minerva almost cheered. "Though we need to move forward for the cloud drive to work and to actually fly- even slowly is acceptable."

And again the tour continues, with each one managing to learn the things to be in form aboard the lost logia ship. After the tour, the admiral dismissed the girls and knights, leaving Chrono to accustom to his new ship and Yuuno with his admiral mother. The two enter garden room one, which was near the exit where the others have left.

"It's been a long while Yuuno…" she began to speak softly, really different from her normal voice, which was a bit forceful and commanding.

"Yes mother…"

"I supposed you did not hear the news as well… with you always away for long periods- for the last eight years…"

"What news?" the boy asked.

"The matriarch- your grandmother, has died- three years ago." The admiral spoke with a low voice. "And being the only female in the clan- though not of blood, I was chosen to take her place… as stated in the clan canon."

And then she took out the Tome of the Blue Sky from out of nowhere.

"Memory, we have to talk…" she then spoke to the book.

Then, a construct with the same hair color, height and clothing as 'his' sister tome, but with deep blue eyes and flat chest- indicating that at least, he was male, appeared.

"Yes, Mistress…" the construct replied coldly, bluntly and as solid as rock. "I am ready to listen…"

"It concerns about the succession of your being…"

"I am only under the command of the matriarch of the Scrya clan and its successor." The construct began to speak. "If no suited females should appear in the line of succession or if the child or children are only male- due to thinning of the line, that male child will hold the succession of the line, and hence, my ownership, until his marriage to a suited candidate…"

The admiral suddenly presents the tome to her son, with the said teen wondering.

"As matriarch, I am presenting to you the sign of eligibility of succession- and also a helpful tool in storing information and such."

"But mother… that means…"

"No reasoning with me this time… I'm doing this because of you- and I know things- but I'm giving you free rein on the marriage thing. I know that you are busy, with regards to your job but…"

She could not speak as she bowed her head, mind thinking of what to say. She knew that being the child of the matriarch presented special problems- but this was the time of crisis as well, so she was thinking of many possibilities and such.

"Just remember that even the largest of libraries don't have all the information- our quest for the truth and answers to all has been the force behind the clan for ages… that is why you are the most suited candidate to be the new owner of this very tome."

"I understand…" the boy replied.

And again silence came in the garden. And then came the question…

"What's her name? That girl in white? Nanoha, was it?"

Yuuno was shocked, he did not tell anyone- though his actions indicated that he and Nanoha were getting along well.

"In clan opinion… so should I say in my personal opinion, she's quite a capable girl… but with capability comes equal vulnerability."

Yuuno just kept silent- that quote was horribly true for the two of them- mother and son. Memories of blood and loss were flooding thru Kyla's mind, compound that to her thought of even thinking of what her son was thinking- he had loved that figure so much- even though they were not of flesh and blood.

"He misses his father figure…" Kyla thought.

Room D-1-24, Mage Common Room, same time.

Nanoha, Fate and Hayate were seated in each of their comfort chairs, boxes at their laps. Fate was a bit interested at the color scheme of the Silvana's uniform. Hayate was a bit uncertain at the clothing while Nanoha, she simply stared at the box, words still echoing.

"Nanoha…" Fate then turned her attention to her friend and comrade.

"I don't know Fate… why I have been linked to such mysterious things?"

"Maybe…" Hayate then placed herself beside Nanoha. "It's a mystery that we have to solve too…"

With those seemingly insignificant words, Nanoha smiles a bit.

"And we'll just have to solve it- to get to the bottom of this."

Back in Uminari City, same time.

Rein was on the roof of a building, carefully eyeing the seaside city below him. His bow Ballista neatly slung behind him with a strap that crossed his chest.

"Now where could it be?" he asked himself. "Or should I say, where could they be, those hopefuls of magic?"

And on the streets below, Alyssa (Arisa) was meeting Suzuka- it was Sunday and the two were going shopping together.


	3. The Crisis Begins to Loom

# 3: The Crisis Begins to Loom

Unknown Space, Unknown Time.

A capsule floats in trans-dimensional space, amid wreckage of what seemed to be a dimensional transport ship. A closer look on the capsule reveals that the capsule was of TSAB use- well until the ship it was on was turned into the debris field by some unknown reason. Upon looking at another angle reveals that it was a sort of escape capsule, for there was a bit of glass at the top and a shadow of a human face was showing. Inside, the being encased was having delusions.

"Ugh… where am I? Who the hell pushed me?" the being, a male asked to himself.

Then a shadow falls on his blurred sight, making it the last thing he saw before drifting back to unconsciousness- but not before hearing the words- from the outside…

"…te to… Silvana… I've…"

24 hours prior…

The Silvana had just gotten out of the base, destination the orbit around the Earth, since it was agreed that Earth be once again the central point of investigation- like the Book of Darkness case. Nanoha and the other Earth-based mages and knights have gone home for the school week and hence the only known members left there are Chrono- who was still being glomped by a cheerful Minerva at every moment, Yuuno- who was silent- too silent after his meeting with his mother-admiral and the two familiars Arf and Zafira. Kyla, Yuuno's mother was in the mapping room, looking intently at the local star charts of Earth.

"Hmm… this in interesting." The admiral spoke to herself. "There are exactly 12 constellations surrounding the planet if viewed from the planetary poles… in exact spacing even…"

"They're called the Zodiac 'mam…" Minerva's voice and then person appears in the doorway.

"Zodiac? What are they?" the admiral asked, since she only knew the space around her home planet and that of the systems in Midchilda. "I've never been to this part of the cosmos before- except during that event at 213…"

"12 signs that they say to influence a person's destiny…"

"I see… can we somehow use this in other means?"

"Why of course 'mam… these constellations are the landmarks of Earth- as long as we know where one of them are, we can always find Earth when we do get lost…"

Uminari City, Takamachi Residence, 7:50 AM.

"I'm off!" Nanoha spoke to her parents, opening the gate and heading off.

"Take care!" Momoko replied, closing the gate.

The situation of the Takamachi family is a bit silent right now- literally - Kyouya and Miyuki had gone off to the nearby university and only come home on the weekends, so it was kind of silent, less meals to prepare for the majority of the week, but when they do come- it was like a family reunion. Kyouya and his girlfriend Shinobu- Suzuka's sister, were still going strong despite all of this time- making the single Miyuki somewhat jealous.

Shiro appears out of the door, a look of little worry on his face, which his wife acknowledges with a nod.

"I hope she and her friends can pass…" Shiro then spoke "the exams that is…"

And speaking of the time, only two days remained before the start of summer- and hence, it was exam period. So far, Nanoha and her friends got off the easy subjects, but the last two days were the hardest- physics, trigonometry and the like were on the menu.

Seishou Public High School, 8:15 AM.

Nanoha arrives to a classroom already occupied by Fate, Hayate, Arisa, Suzuka and a few others. At the start of the week, the three mages had explained to the two what happened and the two's response was a bit of worry.

"Nanoha…" Suzuka then came near. "I've already sent the letters to the club members…"

The reason for this line was that Nanoha had established a club in the school. Called the 'Extreme Adventure Club', this club deals with extreme sports- but that was only a cover, for its real purpose was to find other people who had magical potential and teach them the ways- the reason why Suzuka and Arisa were in there is because they had entered into an already active barrier years ago, during the last battle in the Book of Darkness case- and it was an invitation- only club so it was a bit relaxed in terms of conforming with any school rules- allowing it to extend into the other schools of the city. And on the issue of the two, they were doing fine- able to charge their powers a bit in a ball of light- just like Nanoha was doing when her linker core was weakened during the book case.

TSAB Dimensional Monitoring Station "Lagrange", Terra and Midchildian space border, same time.

The station, like many others like it, was abuzz with activity. Being a station that monitors the dimensional state and doubling as a transfer point, Lagrange was equipped with the latest sensory systems, shielding and the best personnel the bureau can afford to place- the "best expendables" as one quoted. At one of the many docks in the station's wharf, a transport was ready to ferry outgoing personnel back to the bureau main office "Macross" for their leave, having brought in a fresh batch that had just finished their leave.

"Hey Kha!" one bureau clerk, one about to board the transport, called out to another one who was also going, one of a small pigtail with his long obsidian hair. "Still working even when we're about to take leave?"

The person in question was busy on his data palette, busy at something only he was able to understand. He had brown eyes protected by low frame glasses, evoking a sense of mystery about him.

"Huh? Are you talking to me?" he then asked the colleague, still working as he passed by.

"You're the only one who has three letters for a name here… though I would rather call you 'Cleric' like the rest of us call you- I only did that to attract your attention."

"Ha, ha, ha…" he only said in reply.

"Oh come on man!" the guy who called him began to tail him and walk alongside him as well. "You should look at the world around you for even a moment."

The two walk on for a few meters, closer to the loading bay of the shuttle.

"You know… some people here have eyed you- you know Candice from engineering?"

"Yeah… she's one of the best… so what about her?"

"Oh come on… you of all people should notice it! You know she is only one of the many girls in your age range that have you on their must-have lists- basically all the girls in your age range…"

At this point, he turned off his palette and pocketed it.

"I would rather use my time doing productive things…" the eyeglassed one spoke as he entered.

At the passenger area of the transport, he sat down at a window seat and again took out his palette. After a few moments, he opened one file that was stored within multiple folders and countless layers of passwords. It was a picture, of a girl with golden yellow hair and brown eyes, together with what seemed to be her mother, a mature woman with gray hair and equally gray eyes.

"Alicia…" he could only say as he closed his eyes.

"Still looking for her huh?" the guy who talked to him was now sitting beside him, looking at the picture. "You know, some things are best left missing or lost… you may never know that you'll find something better in the winds… or, that thing you've been looking for will find you instead."

Seishou Public High School, two hours later, 10 AM.

With the trigonometry exam behind them, it was recess time and the girls were up on the roof, enjoying their food and the light breeze cooling off the mild sun above them.

"Ugh…" Alyssa groaned. "That exam will kill me…"

"You know you did well in that one…" Suzuka commented.

"That's easy for you to say, you're the one who can ace that…"

Then from the door, a student from third year came in and headed towards the group. She had gray hair that extended towards her shoulders, with ruby eyes and fair complexion. She is Mina Hitsuji, a senior student of the school and a member of Nanoha's club.

"Senior Takamachi, I came here as you requested…" the senior student in terms of class spoke to the senior in terms of magical ability.

"Thank you for coming… where are the others?"

"They had other things to do, so they'll be coming to the appointed place later… by the way, what are we going to do, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Just some pointers before we take our vacation and a little something as a vacation present for all of you…" Hayate replied, seeing that Nanoha was not replying, and somewhat looking at another direction.

"Okay then…"

Moments after the senior had left…

"What's wrong Nanoha?" Hayate then asked.

"I feel…" Nanoha began to speak, all the while still looking at the sky. "That something's going to happen…"

TSAB Silverwind-Class Transport Ship "Lacus", on route to TSAB main office "Macross"- so named because of the legendary intelligent shielding device that was incorporated into the structure when it was built- the "Macron Cross", a shield that rivals the Iron Curtain in defense capability, Same time.

"Can I take your order?" a pretty, not to mention hot, flight attendant asked our aloof by the window guy.

"Can I take you as my order?" the guy beside said aloof guy replied in turn, making the attendant slam a tray on him.

"Ask a nonsense question, get a sensible answer…" Kha replied and then pointed to an item in the menu the attendant gave.

"Thank you very much…"

Moments after the attendant left.

"Gosh… she didn't have to hit me that hard… and with that for that matter…" the guy beside Kha complained, still rubbing his head. "So, when are you going back to Volkseinheithalle (Folk unity hall- the TSAB station orbiting Velka Space's central planet Velk)?"

"After my leave… I still have a lot of things to do… a visit to Midea (one of Mid-Childa's two central planets, the other being Childea, Midea's twin planet) will be in order. I still have to deal with something first…"

"Like I told you… give it a rest already…" the seatmate again replied, taking out a data tablet and turning it on, displaying news and other related stuff. "If things are meant to be… let it be… you can't change destiny."

Silvana, in dock at the main office, thirty minutes later, 10:30 AM.

The ship's trip was cut short due to one important matter, the final components of the ship's upgrade were already available- several new systems have been installed in the months prior but were never completed and activated due to the frequency of the ship's missions.

"Ades, what's the status of our systems?" Admiral Kyla asked her weapons engineer.

"CIWS, Barriers, Iron Curtain and Sigma Wing systems all green. Tristans, Isolde, Valiants, Tannhäuser, Missile launchers 1-4 and the newly installed Gottfried and photon torpedo launchers are all ready."

"Hmm… those two new additions were a long time coming- only this event- the addition of new teams to the ship has made this possible…"

"I agree on that 'mam. And by the way, what shall we do with the newbie?"

"Like we do always with newbies on this ship… 'torture' him…"

"Aye…"

Secondary Weapons Control, Deck E of the Silvana, same time.

Minerva, with a couple of the base maintenance crew were doing the final checks on the new additions of the ship. Minerva, being the AI and somewhat a mage in her own right- due to being a lost logia, well you can say that the Silvana is her device and barrier jacket in one- so care was needed when new things are added. The said AI had poked one of her fingers in a port similar to the one R2D2 plugs in, directly accessing the systems- she could have done this at her post by the bridge but she is a person- so she needs her privacy.

"Hmm…" she simply hummed as the screens showed data.

"Well? Is it well with you?" one of the techs asked.

"I think I can manage aiming such a sniper rifle over the vastness of space… as for the photon torpedoes, are you sure that they only run straight?"

"We're still testing the homing version…"

"I see… and then…"

She suddenly stops and as sudden, the yellow alert klaxon rang out.

"What's the matter Minerva?" Kyla's voice came in thru.

"I'm receiving a garbled distress message…"

"Can you at least know where it came from?"

"Well…" the avatar thought. "Based from the strength, it seems pretty far- about two to three hours even at maximum speed."

Suddenly at the bridge, a comms was received.

"Yes what is it?" Kyla answered.

"This just in…" the comms officer spoke. "We've lost track of one of our Silverwind personnel ferries, the Lacus. She was on route here from Lagrange to ferry off-duty personnel when we lost track of her…"

"I see… and being the only ship ready to leave the wharf… okay, we'll take it…"

Then the red alert klaxon then rang loudly.

"Attention all hands, the Silvana will be leaving in thirty minutes for an urgent mission. All hands are to return to their flight posts as soon as possible and stragglers will not be waited on!" Kyla's voice boomed across the ship, stirring or should I say riled up the crew members from their usual routine.

Hangar:

"What the! We haven't finished our starship loading yet!" one of the hangar crew complained as he maneuvered a large star-shaped object into a rack using a powerloader.

"Don't complain, just work!" another one of the crew retorted.

Food Cold Storage:

"Are we done yet?"

"Almost filled… are the fish in yet?"

Magazine B:

"All Missiles have been loaded!"

"Okay, let's get out of here!"

Meanwhile in Chrono's room, he had been roused from his nap upon hearing the announcement for a third time. He had barely enough time to slip into his new uniform when suddenly; Minerva was standing in his way upon opening of the door. She suddenly grabs his hand and speedily drags him towards the bridge.

Bridge:

"Ah Chrono… just in time." The admiral beamed on cue as the door opened. "The ship will be leaving for a rescue mission in about… 20 minutes. I'm leaving the bridge in your care and make sure the checklist is completed, okay?"

He could only nod as his superior exited, and Minerva giving him a piece of paper- a long piece of paper.

"Here you go… the checklist…"

Back in school, Nanoha- who was still looking at the sky; notices a sudden bright flash overhead- the afterglow attracting some.

"Hey, what was that?" one classmate asked, pointing up.

"That was some flash…" another commented.

"Shooting star?"

"A missile? A bomb? A nuke?"

"Something's wrong…" Nanoha spoke before standing up and taking Raging Heart (on standby) out.

"We'll come with you…" both Fate and Hayate spoke and stood up, taking out their devices (on standby) as well.

Moments later, some of the students of the school look up as three lights- pink, yellow and white, rise up from what seemed to their view was the roof of the school- which in reality was.

"What could that be?" Hayate asked as they sped up, ready to transfer into dimensional space.

"I don't know…" Nanoha replied. "But I feel that something is really wrong…"

Silvana, on route to unknown area of transmission source, thirty minutes later, 11:10 AM.

Minerva is at her post (capsule), floating and carefully analyzing the transmission, leaving the flying to the helm and the bridge crew.

"How is it Minerva?" Kyla could only ask.

"Still undetermined… but at least we know the general direction." The avatar can only say. "How's your end, Scrya-kun?"

In his room, Yuuno was also analyzing the message.

"Transports usually take straight lines, so if we know the ship's route line, then we can trace it…" he then spoke.

"Okay then, I have the transport charts of the ferries… can I have the helm?"

"Please Minerva…"

As control of the ship was taken over by Minerva, Kyla began to comment on Chrono's performance at departure.

"Good work Chrono- you've handled it well. But, we left five minutes late- and I have ordered a no straggler command…"

"I'm sorry, but there are some people who were still outside."

"I know… but they know their job and you must know yours…"

"Captain…" The sensor officer began to speak. "We are detecting multiple blast waves, distance undetermined. Probable trans-dimensional explosions."

"Trans-dimensional huh? Minerva, spool up the wing…"

"Roger… Sigma Wing Drive spooling…"

Room X-1, Sigma Wing. The sigma wing drive is the ship's primary way to enter the trans-dimensional space between dimensions- the device looking like a pair of mechanized golden wings, connected to the ship by means of optic cables. Blue lines of light began to appear throughout the device and said device began to glow, its light beginning to flow in the cables into the wings and control surfaces of the ship. Outside, the leading and trailing edges began to glow a golden yellow, along with a golden toned bubble surrounding the ship.

"Wing is set…" Minerva replied.

"Okay then… Dive!"

Trans-dimensional space, same time.

Nanoha and the others had already shifted and were already on the site of the event that was seen in normal space as a flash. They were appalled by what they see- debris of what used to be a ship were strewn everywhere. Then something wet hits Hayate at her cheek, something wet, and red- bloody red.

"Wha- wha- what is this?!" she began to almost scream upon rubbing her cheek and looking at it. "Blood?"

All three girls cover their mouths and noses, ready to anticipate the smell of death.

"What happened here?" Fate then asked.

"We better look for survivors…" Nanoha then spoke, setting their minds at least.

The girls then split up. Meanwhile at the Silvana, they have found an anomaly in the flow of space-time- a sort of Gulf Stream of sorts, allowing those traveling in it to move faster- a slipstream. Looking at their readings, the signatures came from the stream.

"Can you slip in?" Kyla asked- even though slipstreaming was already a routine procedure for the ship, it still had its dangers. "I'm still not sure if the ship is at the end of this stream…"

"I can- barely… even with Minerva fine tuning the entry and navigation…" the helmsman replied.

"Make it so…" Kyla then spoke. "All hands brace for turbulence…"

Throughout the ship, people were scrambling to get hold of something or sit on, and those that were carrying something quickly squatted where they are and even the galley people were holding stacks of plates with their dear lives, mindful of the knives that may come in. The shaking began as the ship entered the stream, gradually increasing its forward speed towards wherever the stream was flowing.

"Captain…" Chrono then spoke. "I think it's best to warn anyone that a transport has gone down, or we can listen if somebody else has already been there…"

"Fine with me… Meyrin?"

The redhead sitting at the communications post- to the captain's left and above and behind Chrono's seat, then looked at her captain.

"Yes 'mam… issuing an alert to all ships and bureau mages in range…"

While the message was being transmitted, sensors have picked up some signatures.

"Captain, picking up three distinct signatures- too far to determine who but I'm picking up traces that can help me aid in identifying who…"

"Can you?" Kyla asked.

"Give me some time and I'll know- the stream is messing things up a bit."

As that was happening, back at the wreck site, the girls were busy looking for survivors when suddenly they feel something- something really bad near them. The sensors detect it as well just as the man manning the post had found out what were those three other signatures.

"Captain, I have just finished my analysis- the signatures can only belong to bureau mages- IDs Hallaoun, Yagami and Takamachi… and detecting another unknown- and its large!"

"That's not good…" Chrono commented. "Minerva, how long?"

"I've recalculated and it will now take us about fifteen minutes via slipstream…"

"Fifteen minutes…"

Back at the site, the girls then hear the broadcast from the Silvana, via their psychic lines.

"This is the administration bureau ship Silvana, all ships and mages within range of this transmission should take note that a bureau transport has gone missing. Any ship or mage near the site of it should try and help and contact us, since we are still on route. Any assistance shall be greatly appreciated…"

"It's the Silvana…" Hayate commented. "And this must be the transport ship…"

"But something's near us… can it be another ship?" Fate added.

Nanoha was simply looking at the debris field and then, something gets her view- a silhouette of a ship, hidden among clouds of static energy that litter the same space as they were in- and that ship was quickly making itself scarce. She tried to case it but what she saw next was sudden- in short, four missiles were headed for her. Both Fate and Hayate also notice the incoming, and rush to intercept. But as they closed in, they exploded hundreds of meters from them, enveloping them in the flashes, disorienting them. With the flashes over, they look around for any impending attack and found nothing, with the unknown ship gone as well. Then, Fate spots something in the far distance and flies off.

Back at the Silvana…

"The unknown is gone from sensors…" sensors replied.

"Same from here…" Minerva added.

"What could that be?" Kyla then asked. "Helm… slow the ship down, we are nearing the site…"

"Ready to take it out of the stream…" the helm began to chant. "Easing… easy… slowly… easing…"

"That sounded sooo wrong…" Minerva commented.

"Okay, okay, okay! Fifteen seconds… Brace… now!"

Once again, the ship encounters turbulence, but gradually lessens as they leave the stream. Immediately, Chrono spots something unusual.

"What is that?" he then asks.

"Debris field…" sensors replied. "This is not a good place to be in…"

"I agree on that Admiral." Chrono replied.

"Make it so… full stop."

The ship then shakes a bit as forward motion and counterthrust were applied to stop the progress. Inside the wreck field, both Nanoha and Hayate spot the ship stopping- though it was far from them.

"Nanoha, are there any survivors?" Chrono's voice came in.

"We still don't know Chrono…" Hayate replied.

"How did you manage to be here anyway?"

"Nanoha saw a flash at school and then we went to look and here we are…"

"In normal space?" Kyla thought. "That's some explosion…"

"Where's Fate?"

"She's…" Nanoha began to answer but then took another look. "Not here… maybe looked somewhere else for survivors."

"Stay where you are." Kyla then spoke. "We're going to secure the field so that other ships passing will avoid it while we look at the cause."

Back at the Silvana, Kyla stood up.

"Chrono, you have the ship, I'm going out."

"Eh? Going out? There's a lot of static energy here that can…"

"I know the dangers." The admiral replied, and then pressed a button on her panel. "Bridge to hangar, get set for fly…"

"Fly?" Chrono could only ask.

"You'll know soon enough…" Minerva replied and then proceeded to say the following over the speakers. "Attention hangar crews, flight ops is now in session, all hangar personnel be at your assigned stations and do your assigned duties. Ready opening of hangar doors A, B and C for starship exit…"

"'Starship'?"

"I'm not the only thing that was found with this ship…" the construct replied. "This ship carries ten star-shaped 'starships'- though only the admiral's is the only original of the lot- that's the one with the eight points…" she then opened a screen at Chrono's terminal, showing the rack with star-shaped objects hanging- all of them four pointed in white except the golden one- one with eight points.

"What exactly these ships do?"

"They are the ship's last line of defense and sometimes, the primary offense as well. Though we use them in vacuum space most often…"

"Do you…?"

"I don't know why those are with this ship… I don't even know why I'm carrying them in first place- this is my ship you know…"

Down in the hangar, Kyla appears suited up, being saluted by the ship's pilots- though their magical capabilities fall short of bureau field standards (so short that they did not even qualify as ship personnel), she managed to train them into the most unique group of individuals in the bureau- well in earth military terms, "Top guns".

"You and you…" she spoke and pointed to two of them. "With me… the rest of you will be on standby…"

"Yes 'mam."

The two pilots head towards their own starships, so did the admiral. The admiral wore a headband before sitting in the seat provided in the opening of the star. After attaching safety straps and an all okay sign from the safety crew, the inner panel closes on the admiral, followed by the golden outer plating, forming a tight seal with no seams. The star itself was impressive, smooth and somewhat aerodynamic; with the only things interrupting its clean lines are a couple of gold cylinders on the arms and a pair of camera ports where the head direction is.

Outside near the middle of the ship, doors began to open at port, starboard and at the keel. And inside, the three loaded stars, still in their 'hangers' began to move near the doors, with the admiral near the keel door. Then, the clasps on the hangers were unlocked, now allowing the stars to float confined in the rack.

"Ship exit is okay admiral…" Chrono acknowledged the readiness of the outgoing stars.

"Taking off…" Kyla can only say as they are projected outside- sideways for the port and starboard and downwards for the keel ships, allowing them to fly out.

At the wreck site, the two mages see the stars incoming and moments later, the golden one- the admiral's, stopped near them, with the other two continuing on. The door opens and reveals the admiral, making them go near.

"How are you two?" said admiral then asked as she too covered her mouth and nose. "This is unbearable, the sounds of those that were cut down unjustly…"

"We can hear them too…" Hayate replied, with her device's avatar appearing on her shoulder.

"_This is scary…"_ Reinforce replied, shaking and somewhat cowering in her master's shoulder. _"I'm scared…"_

"We are all scared… we are all scared…" the admiral can only reply.

Meanwhile, Fate was now at the far end of the field, looking for the thing that hinted her sights. Back at the ship, the sensor man had seen the same thing Fate had.

"Uhm captain…" he then asked wearingly at Chrono.

He went over and took a look.

"That's a…"

By this time, Fate had now seen what she had been looking for- but now what she expected, because what she saw was…

"A life pod…" she thought as she neared the capsule and then decided to communicate, not just mentally, but verbally, so that the being in the pod might listen and confirm his or her life was still there. "Fate to Silvana… I've found something here…"

Back to where the two girls and the admiral were, they heard it.

"Where are you?" Kyla then asked.

"At the far end of the field…"

"Can you see any star-shaped objects flying around?"

Fate looked around and the saw one behind her, flying overhead.

"I can see one…"

"Admiral…" Chrono's voice came in.

"I know…" she replied. "Kleo, did you see anyone in your path?"

"Yes, 'mam…" the pilot of the star that passed over Fate replied. "Someone in black…"

"Okay, get back there and call Sam as well…" the admiral then replied. "Okay girls, hang on, we're going to take a look…"

Both Nanoha and Hayate hold on the open panels and the star began to move slowly. Back at Fate's location, Kleo's star and the other one were now floating behind her, also carefully looking at what was inside. Kleo's star had a data cable plugged in, allowing her to look at the information related to whoever was inside.

"Don't worry…" Kleo then spoke. "The person inside of that pod is still alive- he's one tough person…"

"He?" Fate asked.

"A guy is inside of that thing. Well then, let's carry this back… to… the… ship…" the pilot then replied and the slowed down, somewhat realizing something. "Oh dear…"

"What's the matter Kleo?" the pilot of the other star- a guy, asked.

"I've completely forgotten that the arm parts of my machine were under maintenance! So in effect, these arms are just for flying… how about you Sam?"

"My arms are as busted as yours Kleo…"

"…" all three people can only think.

Then, on cue, Kyla and the two others arrive.

"What's the matter?" the admiral then asked as the three mages were reunited.

"We don't have any arms 'mam…" both pilots replied.

"Figures…"

"Admiral, we're ready to transport the pod…" Chrono then came in.

"We can't…"

"Why is that?"

"Well for once, a life pod, three starships with operators and three mages wouldn't fit in the bay…"

Minerva had a sudden chuckle at that.

"And like you've said, this area is full of static energy, so it might pose harm than good. Rather than that, prepare the sickbay for emergency and get a medical team at door D…"

After receiving the reply, the admiral closed her hatch and then proceeded with the grab operation, namely activating her ship's side arms. Joints at the wing root and in the middle of the wing popped open, enabling it to wrap around the pod.

"Kleo, Sam… continue to mark the area… Maliq, you're the sub…"

"Roger that…"

"Come on girls… we need to get back, let the others do the scouting…"

The three girls began to escort the ship and its precious cargo back to the Silvana, meeting another star on the way. Once near, the starship released its cargo, leaving the girls to carry the pod inside the open D door- which was easy given that gravity between dimensions is equal to zero. The star then proceeded to an open hangar door, where what seemed to be a framework box was out there- that was the starship's catching dock. After being caught and 'reeled in', Kyla quickly stepped out of the craft and made her way towards sickbay.

At hangar D, just below the space of the ship's combat bridge, the girls settle the pod down on the floor, allowing a techie with basically a crowbar to pry open the pod hatch- which was easy. The person was then hauled on to the gurney (hovering of course) and quickly hauled to sickbay. While on the way, Kyla was thinking about what she had just seen when she plugged her star's data cable onto the pod.

"Could it be… him? I need to double check…"

All this time, our survivor, now identified as the one called Kha, was having his delusions in his unconscious state- namely, recollections. The memory of his past began to show, in full color; an indication of this was that he was looking at somebody with yellow hair tied in two tails by green ribbons, with a green ceremonial robe typical of Midchildian christening anniversary celebrations, in the shade of a tree.

"Alicia, why did you call me here?" he then asked.

The girl turned to face him, revealing that she was none other than Alicia Testarossa. Upon seeing her face, his cheeks had a slight blush on them, but were quickly removed when he saw her crying.

"What's the matter? Is it-?"

"It's… it's… it's father…" Alicia began to sob. "It's becoming miserable not just for mother, but also for me as well… I don't know how long mother will last… I don't want to be all alone!"

He couldn't say a thing as he simply looked on.

Then, then the scene changes, with Alicia wearing the white robe of mourning, still under that same tree.

"I came as soon as I heard…" he then spoke. "I had to persuade the scientists at the lab over and over just to get here."

"Kha…" the girl can only say as she suddenly dived towards him and sobbed.

He only did what a friend can do, hold her, console her and be wet with tears. Then the next "bombshell" came from him personally.

"Uhm… Alicia, I'm being transferred…"

"What?!!" she replied, pushing him away. "You're leaving us? Why?"

"The guys up top decided so I can't really go against it…"

"But… but… I don't want to be alone!"

With a bowed head, he went near her and hugged her tight.

"I may be leaving, but I will come back… I promise you that I will come back and when I do, I'll use the money that I saved to take you and Precia a new place, away from here, away from all those bad memories… I don't want to see you sad, because I'll be even lonelier if you do…"

"You promise?"

"I do… for your mother and you especially…"

Then the scene again changes, now with a difference. Now unusually, Fate was now the one standing wearing the blue robe of marriage, Bardiche on hand.

"Alicia?" he then asked.

Fate now turns to look at him, making him puzzled for a bit, but then spots something.

"You're not Alicia… you look like her but… who are you?!!" he then spoke, taking out what seemed to be a cross.

Then the scene goes black. He looks around to assess what had happened. Then the floor he stands on suddenly glowed with symbols and lines, the direction of their glow pointing towards a point several meters from him. He walked towards the direction they were glowing and then found someone robed in white in the middle of what seemed to be a formation, the source of the glow.

"It's been a long time child…" the robed figure began to talk- a female.

"You are…"

"Yes, it is we, the light. And you have displayed amazing patience in waiting for our voices to return…"

"Why did you fade? Why did you become suddenly silent?" Kha began to ask, somehow, he knew who the figure was.

"We have other things to manage in other realms, so we couldn't have the time… and your realm is not ready for the secrets we hold. But now, the time for those secrets has come…"

"What am I to do? What is it about what I saw earlier? The person who is and isn't Alicia? What is going on here?"

"You will find in due time child, you will hear in due time…"

Back in normal time, the Silvana was now accompanied by two more bureau patrol ships of the same class as the Asura, making the task of marking the wreck site easier. At the conference room of the Silvana, Kyla and Chrono were giving their report and conferencing with the other two captains. Outside, some personnel were preparing for a memorial service to be held later.

"We still haven't determined the actual cause of the ship's destruction, probable cause is antimatter leak but… even with normal ways of blowing ships up, the antimatter would not be dirty in destroying the ship…" Chrono replied.

"I see… and?" Lindy was at the other line.

"Miss Takamachi had reported seeing a ship at the area leaving; she was unable to confirm though because flash bombs were used to halt her pursuit. But my guess on the blow up is only one thing… positron."

"Positron?" other and son then wondered.

"A lot of advanced earth physics has been used in this ship for some unknown reason… but given from the Atlantis case, that idea is not such a far-flung possibility. Positrons are the same particles that our main cannon fires at enemies- the complete opposite of electrons. Well anyway, the positron may have totally disrupted the magnetic field holding the antimatter and hastened its destruction, but with the added antimatter… I can only imagine what happened to those inside."

"What about the survivor then?"

Kyla then fell silent, making Chrono wonder.

"What's the matter?"

"How can I put it in? Hmm…"

"Admiral?"

"What's the matter Kyla?" Lindy then asked.

"It's him…"

"Him?" Chrono asked.

"You mean him? The 'whispered one'?" Lindy asked, somewhat shocked and expecting something.

Kyla nodded.

"Oh dear…"

"Who's this 'whispered one'?" Chrono again asked, now totally puzzled.

In the next few minutes, the two admirals tell.

"What?!!"

Suddenly, a buzzer alarms, prompting Kyla to open the line- which was from the ship's chapel.

"Yes reverend?" she then asked.

"We're ready for the memorial…"

"Okay then…"

Half an hour later, 1 PM.

Crews in their ship bowed their heads and said prayers as outside, the reverend began to administer final rites for the departed. It was a solemn affair, with all stations of the bureau observing- the last time this happened was during the burial of Chrono's father Clyde. Then when the rites were finished, Nanoha, Fate and Hayate flew over the site and scattered flowers all over.

Sakuradai Ward Hall, Uminari City, Three hours later, 4 PM.

With the wreck behind them, the three mages now proceeded to the club meeting, which was organized at the one of the ward hall's conference rooms, providing a somewhat private location for meetings and stuff. They were still thinking about what reason to tell of their sudden leave (and why the hell they took that long) when they open the door.

"Surprise!" many voices rang out to them, surprising them.

What surprised them are twenty five members of the club- including Suzuka and Arisa, drawn from at least four high schools in the city- Seishou Public, St. Mary Magdala Academy, the IAAS (International Academy of Arts and Sciences) and the Iwase Institute.

"Guys…" Nanoha could only say.

"Well, this is our way of saying thank you for everything." One junior student from Iwase replied.

"When we first experienced our powers, we were scared an unable to think of anything, until you guys came…" Another from Magdala replied.

"We thank you for showing and teaching us, not only just magic, but also how to become more responsible and all of those things our parents were trying to teach us- though your ways are better and much more fun…" then a male student from International added.

The three were unable to speak, humbled.

"Guys…" Nanoha again could only say. "I don't how or what to say but… only this. I appreciate what you have done, but as always, there are some things that I still need to learn, and so, I can only teach to you so little."

"You have done great guys…" Hayate then added. "So as our way of saying thanks…"

On cue, Fate took out a box and opened it, revealing several ring boxes inside.

"Are these?" one club member asked. "Are these are I think they are?"

All three girls, spirits raised due to the celebration, nodded. Elated with anticipation, the club members, Arisa and Suzuka aside, got a box each and opened it, revealing a ring.

"Wow… our very own devices…"

"Come on, try them out…" Nanoha, now feeling okay despite attending a memorial and finishing the exams a few hours ago, replied.

The four classmates stood back at each of the club's members began to concentrate, with Suzuka closing the door for security reasons. After a few tense seconds, the rings showed their true forms- customized versions of the bureau's devices, all of them built with safety in mind.

"Wow… is this for real? Pinch me… Aww!"

"Uhm guys, don't use them in anything bad okay, we will know…"

Then Mina Hitsuji steps up.

"Thank you very much… this is well appreciative of you…" the senior, basically the oldest of the club members, spoke. "Well then, who's up for some snacks?"

The entire room cheers and the pre-summer vacation party began. Meanwhile, up on one of the buildings, our Dei-type magic user Rein was talking to someone on his cellphone.

"You just have to blast it with the Lonhengrins- that poor transport ship…" he chuckled. "When you could have reserved it for our target…"

"Well for your info Mister _Silly_-ent archer, ever heard of charging?" the other side replied, drawing a somewhat funny and sarcastic emphasis.

"I know that fool… and?"

"That girl is smart… she almost found me if it weren't for the flash bombs."

"She is not smart, it just so happens that you are dumb…"

The other line closed itself, but not before allowing our dark archer to hear rumbling and rambling. But just as he was about to pocket his phone, it rang.

"Yes?"

"Uhm…" a female came from the other end, somewhat familiar to him as his usual evil face softened with delight. "Nimura-kun?"

"Ah, Takamachi… what a pleasant surprise…"

At the university, Miyuki Takamachi was on her cell.

"Uhm… I forgot to ask about what time that meeting with the sociology society was… what time is it?"

"Tomorrow, 6:30 PM…"

"Ah… but…"

"But what?"

"I'll be living again at my parents' house tomorrow, given that today is the last day before summer…"

"No problem, I'll fetch you."

"Really?!"

"Just tell me the address, okay?"

After giving her address and saying a few goodbyes, he closed the line. He then looked at his cross pendant and then dialed a number in his cell.

"Uhm, Tachibana Restaurant? I would like to place a reservation for two please…"

At the university…

"Eh? Talking to that Nimura guy again…" a sudden voice from behind Miyuki startled her- Kyouya.

"Would you stop that brother?!!"

"Well, I don't know but I think he's planning to take you out on a date…"

"No he's not!"

"Suit yourself…" her brother replied and then thought. "That's because the sociology society has no meeting tomorrow."

Back at our dark archer, he had now pocketed his phone and proceeded to climb down the stairs.

"Time to be Rai Nimura for a while- the heiress can wait."


	4. The Surprising Start of Summer

# 4: The Surprising Start of Summer

Takamachi Residence, fourteen hours later, 6 PM.

Last night had been a wonderful night for the family, Kyouya and Miyuki have gone home to spend the summer with the family and it was as always, a wonderful reunion. But now, Miyuki was dressed to kill and descending towards the living room of their house.

"Serious about that 'date' huh?" Kyouya began to tease her.

"…" Miyuki can only mumble.

Silvana, at the Lacus wreck site, same time.

The ship and two more bureau vessels, the Naga and the Yaksa, were having a meeting about certain things, particularly the formation of a new investigative group that will be assigned to deal with the Lacus' sinking.

"Eh? The Silvana, having a group?" Kyla asked, since working alone was her specialty. "Isn't that a bit too much?"

"I know how you feel Kyla." Lindy, who was on screen at her house replied. "But with your resources stretched out, I'm personally feeling sorry that your ship has not been given that much attention lately."

"Even though we prefer operating alone and often in secret, I understand what you mean… so, these two ships are assigned to me?"

"Yes 'mam…" the captain of the Naga, Keio Hitsuji, replied. "Admiral Lindy had assigned us to your care just in case…"

"And don't worry about us being taken down easily admiral." The captain of the Yaksa, the previous vice-captain of the Silvana that completed his training aboard it, Arthur Trienas, spoke back. "The two ships now with yours are much tougher than others of the similar class…"

"Oh really?" the admiral asked, eyeing the other admiral on Earth.

"Improved magical defenses, added arsenal, and a weapon much powerful than the Arc-'en-ciel cannon… the 'Fleur-de-lis'." Lindy replied, sort of laughing.

"Hmm… 'Fleur-de-lis'? Don't tell me that's the cannon that is loosely based on the Silvana's…"

Lindy and the two captains nodded.

"Okay then… requesting permission to use 'that'…"

Back on Earth, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it…" Miyuki quickly stood up from her chair and cut off her brother at the hallway leading to the door.

Upstairs, Nanoha was busy packing, because summer meant internship with the bureau- usually aboard the Asura but in this situation, she may have to go to the Silvana to await the outcome. A lot of her classmates have tried to convince her, along with Fate and Hayate, to go places- well, like normal teenagers do in summer. But being independent people, they have no choice when their resolve was on every time. Downstairs, Miyuki opened the gate and was pleased at who was there.

"Ah Nimura (Hon: Nimura-san)…"

"Do you mind asking your father if I can…?"

"I can what?" Shiro Takamachi's voice and then person came in.

"Ah father… let me introduce to you one of my colleagues in the sociology society, Rai Nimura."

"Good evening." Rai greeted.

"Same to you… and what brings you here?" Shiro then asked.

"Pardon my presence but can I ask your daughter out…" Rai spoke, making Miyuki gasp a bit before continuing. "For a meeting with the sociology society…" he then continued, making Miyuki release her gasp.

"College extra-curricular activities huh?"

"Well it's the society's start of summer party- well the seniors planned it."

"Okay then- under one condition. She must be home before daybreak, must not be laden with alcohol and she must be in one piece and not broken anywhere…" Shiro outlined the conditions, quite stressing the word "broken".

"Yes sir…" Rai instantly bowed.

"Well then… Miyuki have fun…" Kyouya's voice came from the doorway. "Have _fun!_"

"Brother!!!" she can only pout.

Back at the Silvana.

Kyla was in sickbay, looking at the state of the survivor. She had heard and read reports about him, but did not expect for the real person to be on board.

"The once proud hope of magic huh?" She softly spoke, taking from the inside folds of her uniform two crystal crosses, one green and a red one. "And the stability of it… how vexing."

The resident doctor, Dr. Chandra, came in.

"Ah Admiral… how nice you see you here."

"Doctor, how is he?"

"His body is now fine and healed properly; though his mind is still out…" the doctor could only reply- a lengthy take on the words "He's still unconscious". "But he's…"

"Since he's the only witness to the sinking, Lindy told me to keep him here."

"I see. But given the circumstances, we must…"

"I know, but personally, I feel that the time has come to tell all everything, no matter how painful the truth is… no matter how painful."

"I couldn't agree more…" the doc then replied.

"But unless those brass buckets beside Lindy will stop, I doubt that it will be such a hard task."

Meanwhile, Chrono, who was in his room, was viewing over material pertaining to the one they have rescued.

"Bureau Emissary Kha der Kleriker, Lieutenant, bureau emissary to Velka Space, first bureau mage to ever have been accepted with a full Velka sigil, and the first opportunity of observing the Velka-type magic firsthand, since the Book of Darkness case had lighted the bureau to the form. Magic origin unknown, primary sponsor… Precia Testarossa??!"

Upon reading the said "cursed" name, Chrono began to dive deeper into the records. Each page of information that he read just brought more shock to his face and thus, making appear minutes later at the captain's office.

"I'm as shocked as you too when I first read about it… I did not expect such things to come out of a past friend."

"Past friend?"

"Yes… Precia- the Precia I knew was a happy person. But ever since 'things' happened to her, she has lost herself and almost everything and in the end, lost all of it in the end. Leaving only…"

"Fate…" Chrono could only say.

"When she began her final madness, I tried to stop her in all civil ways I can think of, but eventually, I gave up due to the hope that the one who had gathered the scattered seeds to the planet called Earth can stop her in my place… and I have not been wrong. Nanoha huh? Do you have anything about her, her personal history, the names of her relatives, anything that can link her to the sealed devices?"

"I personally don't know… not even…"

"What?"

"Yuuno… he's spent more time with her…"

"Okay… I guess we have to use 'that' then, since schools in her locale would have started their vacations already. I always wanted to have a house on this mysterious planet. I have heard tales that the emperor of my home planet was born and raised here…"

"I guess so…"

Moments later.

"Real-estate huh?" Lindy, who was at home asked. "Hmm… wait a moment okay?"

After a few minutes of waiting, a small glow of transport suddenly flashes, depositing stacks of paper on the floor near Kyla's feet.

"And what are these?" the on-duty admiral wondered.

"As an Earth saying goes, you can find almost anything in the papers…"

After a few minutes of looking at the real estate section, Kyla began to dial up some numbers using Chrono's cellphone. She was particularly interested in one particular ad that said: "Traditional house for sale, lot on prime seaside estate- just a few meters from the water. Private beach, harbor and tropical garden included. Interested buyers may call 101-XX-XXXX and look for Dark." The phone began to ring, and after a while, the other end picked up.

"Hello pretty lady…" the other end, definitely a male answered, which Kyla recognized quickly.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the dimensional thief… enjoying your amnesty huh?"

"Well, well, well admiral. Did not expect you calling… what can I do for you?"

"How much for the house?"

"Uhm… what house?" the seller asked. "I have plenty of them, you know buying and reselling houses is a lucrative business here on Earth you know and legal under any law."

"I know that… the one near the ocean, the traditional one?"

"Ah, good choice on that one… but that will cost you big-time- seaside properties fly off pretty quickly you know- so far the bid for that house has been three hundred thousand American dollars- quite a large amount if I say so… and yes, I will only accept Earth money, and nothing else."

"Well then… I have a few things that might spark your interest…" the admiral spoke, taking out a blue crystal from her pocket.

With a wave of the hand, the crystal vanished, evoking a sense of surprise at the other end.

"Ah! This, this, this, this is…"

"Pure Claudia- 100 percent pure to be exact. Already that crystal is already worth more than the previous bid…"

"At a thousand times its weight in gold, this is the same amount in Earth gold exchange terms." The surprised real-estate agent exclaimed.

"Actually, at 1500 times now… and my ship runs on this stuff, so I can give you an amount sufficient enough to last your family up to the tenth generation…"

"Are you willing come here?"

"Gladly…"

Kyla hung up and tossed the phone back to Chrono, wearing a wide smile of somewhat evil intent.

"Okay Chrono, I have to go see my new house… and yes, call the others and tell them to wait."

"But where?"

"In their houses… I'll go visit them later. Yuuno?"

The door behind them opens and reveals said admiral's son.

"Come…" the said admiral then spoke. "We need to buy something for the upcoming operation during the summer..."

Minutes later, Transporter Room A.

Mother and son, both in the civilian attire that fits the city, were preparing to go down. Yuuno was about to transform to his usual civil mode (as a ferret) when suddenly, his mother-admiral knocks him on the head.

"Mother, why did you do that?" Yuuno asked, rubbing his sore head. "I usually do that when I go to Nanoha's place…"

"How many times have I told you that transforming too many times is harmful to your health?"

"But mother…"

"Shut up."

"But…"

"Shut up- don't even consider an appeal. It's time for you to walk normally and not on the side like a pet- you're a man for crying out loud."

Sakuradai Seaside Park, Moments later, 6:30 PM.

Mother and son appear in a secluded part of the park. And moments later, they blend in with the common populace. They come to rest on one of the benches facing the sea. And then, Kyla points toward it. They can barely make out an island thru the haze.

"Some distance from here is our destination…" she then speaks.

"Are you sure about it mother?"

"I'm sure… I placed a spell in the call that allows me to trace where the call came from, that is why I was able to send a small chunk of expensive crystal over to him as down payment. And the ad for it was in a newspaper that is only circulated here- based on feeling. But at this time and place, we should have transported down directly instead of landing here."

"We can always take that…" Yuuno pointed towards the nearby ferry harbor where the regular hovercraft ferry was coming in while another one was heading out.

"Interesting craft…"

Minutes later, Umi-Haru ferry station.

Thanks to Yuuno's acquired knowledge of the workings of the city, and also add to that a momentary stop to the local internal revenue office for a quick gold exchange prior, the two now had tickets to the next "flight" to the nearby island of Haruhi

and were waiting for another of the ferries to arrive. According to our resident midchildian expert of the city, there are four ferries servicing the route, two of them always on route to and from the stations and the remaining two are docked at the stations, fifteen minutes apart- meaning that a docked ferry will only wait fifteen minutes before departing as another one arrived. Then, the sound of jet engines began to come near, with one of the ferries arriving, along with the PA system ringing.

"Thank you for waiting, please pardon the delay due to an accident in the channel…"

Moments later, inside the ferry's passenger area.

Kyla was silent as she looked out the window as the ferry took up passengers. The sight of the sea reminded her of the past, as her homes, both when she was still single and when she was married were close to the sea. Then, images of the past began to flow thru, at first happy and then suddenly turning into horror and then grief- the last two in somewhat bloody fashion. As she was about to somewhat break down, she looks at her son, stops her spiral and then lays a hand on his shoulder.

"Mother…"

"Don't break down… don't ever break down…"

"What did you mean by that mother?" Yuuno asked, wondering what that passage meant.

"Never mind what I have said my son… just relax…" the admiral replied before returning her gaze towards the moving sea and then thought. "That time must never come- the time that seal…" she then paused, taking into account one bloody image of a golden haired child holding a huge sword over fallen bodies of black clothed men, all of it covered in blood. "It must never be broken…"

Somewhere, same time.

It was some sort of dark space, not even a single sign of any other color except that overwhelming black.

"So, you have identified her huh?" a cold female voice came in. "The heiress?"

"Yes, and it came from the archer…" another voice, that was linked to the one our resident evil archer was talking to spoke in.

"I see…" the first voice now spoke, now some light managing to peek, like a spotlight, showing off only the hem of a very familiar styled but black long skirt. "We don't need to rush… some things are best enjoyed longer chewed than quickly swallowed."

"Just like gum my heiress, just like it…"

Takamachi residence, ten minutes later.

"Eh, what did you mean by that Chrono?" Nanoha asked as to why they were instructed to stay put, just as she was about to leave.

"I myself don't know… but the admiral said that she was buying something in the city, something about a house of sorts… Hmm… I can't believe what she is planning!"

And with that, the line closed, leaving a wondering Nanoha.

"What was that all about?"

Back at the Silvana.

"Why didn't I notice it in the first place? She basically doing the same thing during the Tome of darkness' case- I understood why in that case but how about now?" Chrono thought as he went from the bridge, where he made three calls- to Nanoha, Fate and Hayate respectively, to his quarters.

Unknown to him though, someone was sneaking up behind him and then suddenly glomped him from behind.

"Chrono-kuuun!"

Yup, the only one that can say "-kun" with such length is none other than our resident AI avatar Minerva.

"Mi- Mi- Minerva! Get off me!"

"That always feels good you know…" the avatar replied to the complaint of her vice-captain. "Well anyways, I'd like to introduce to you a little friend of mine…" she then spoke. "Come on now, don't be shy…"

And from behind her, apparently hiding behind her, was a small girl of about eight or so years, with long green hair and what appeared to be a long winged antennae headset for ears, blanked out silver eyes and unusually or rather, unnaturally toned cream skin. The girl was trembling as she saw Chrono.

"What's the matter Chacha?" Minerva asked as she knelt and petted the child. "She's really shy you know…"

Meanwhile, Chrono could not answer because of one thing that he had noticed- the girl was not human, literally- because despite the adequately sized junior officer's threads that Chacha was wearing, her joints were more like a robot's- well in reality…

"I built her- so in effect, I'm her mother…" the avatar then spoke, making Chrono sweatdrop.

"Uhm… do you by chance read… 'it'?" Chrono then asked. "I mean 'that'?"

"Yes! How did you know? I was about to go to my room and buy Volume 5 on Earth's internet… I really love reading that manga series… tell me!"

Chrono then points to Minerva, who was holding the other four volumes of said manga series.

"Eh… ehehehehehe…" Minerva could only chuckle.

"Figures…" Chrono could only puff.

"Well anyways, Chacha here is the ship's pride and joy- the ship's cat in a sense…" the avatar once again spoke but then was stopped by sudden mewing of a white cat that had managed to rub between 'mother and daughter'. "Though that isthe ship's cat, Sparky…"

"Meow…" the cat only purred as Chacha picked him up.

Five minutes later, Haru-Umi ferry station.

"Thank you for using the hoverferry service, we are delighted in your continued appreciation of this service. Please ride us again whenever you please, this ferry service is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week…" the ferry PA broadcasted as the passengers disembarked.

"Sure looks peaceful…" Yuuno was the first to comment as they went out of the station.

"Too peaceful… if not, magical…" his mother could only comment as they head towards the nearby tram station, unknowingly passing a public map of the island, which was shaped like a cross.

They boarded the tram and after fifteen minutes, it stopped in the middle of a somewhat sparse street along the beach, infront of a rather large traditional house. The two step down and the transport moves on, leaving them to walk towards the house.

"Here we are…" Kyla spoke as she pressed the doorbell, which sounded like a windchime on a windy day. "Any soul alive?"

There was some shuffling, and then the door opened, revealing to them what she hand not expected, a little girl of about 8 years with long black hair and crystal red eyes. She looks at the two and then turns around and yells.

"Father, some people to see you!"

"Do you mind showing them in Night?" a voice came in from the house. "I'm kind of busy putting some things into another box you know…"

The girl named Night led the two into the living room of the house. Kyla was scrutinizing each detail of the house, since some of the architecture was akin to that of her ancestral planet and also that of the Imperial Palace especially. The girl made them kneel as in the traditional Japanese manner and then proceeded out of sight. A full minute later, a man in about his 30s appears, with somewhat spiky jet-black hair, same crystal red eyes, dressed in house Yukata, carrying a bunch of books.

"Ah Admiral Kyla Scrya and son Yuuno…" the man greeted as he set down the books and knelt across the table. "How nice of you to come here…"

"Same to you… Alberas Minta… or should I say Mr. Dark?" Kyla replied. "You have done well since your release fifteen years ago- so this is where you have been all this time…"

"Who would you blame if you fell in love with this divinely blue planet- almost the same degree of blue as my home world and much more beautiful than my home world's sister planet Childea…"

"I would agree… not even my home of Jurai is not up to this color…"

"Well anyways admiral, I believe you have business with me…" Dark then spoke, taking out a blue crystal- the Claudia crystal Kyla had transported. "Since your offer was a bit too… enticing, I'll let you in on a little secret…"

"And?"

"To tell you the truth, this is the very last piece of real estate that I'm selling… this place that has in it the memories of the fifteen years since I was freed by your counsel. The memory of being alone… realizing that I was still alive and has something to live for… meeting and eventually falling in love with my dear Anya… our marriage and Night's birth… then dear Anya's passing… a lot of happy times interlaced with sad ones- such a colorful life I had. But some things must pass and our life on this star is one of them."

Seconds pass in silence, only broken by Night's sudden appearance with a tray of tea and some mochi. And after the delivery was done, the girl again vanishes behind the sliding doors.

"And besides…" Dark continued. "Her grandfather wants to meet her as soon as possible… after hearing what had happened back in court… he really needs to see Night…"

"Well then… let me be the one who you will be dealing with last… Yuuno, the crystal please."

Said son takes out from thin air a much larger Claudia crystal.

"Return to the path you have strayed from…" Kyla then speaks, giving the crystal to the homeowner. "Take your child to her real home, where her family awaits… no matter how regal it is…"

"That I will do… and I'll do it by revealing her nature…"

"I'll be glad to take her into my fold if she decides to tread that path…"

"Maybe… but probably not. This trip will be the last trip of this sort I'll ever make. I'll give you the keys within a day or so at your usual address…"

"Don't mind if I do…" Kyla spoke, offering her hand in a shaking gesture. "Take your time… we still have a lot of things to buy…"

"Don't worry about the household appliances… we'll be only taking our easily carried personal belongings- and we can't exactly bring Terran products into our space…"

"How true, how true…" the admiral spoke as she began to stand up, as well as Yuuno. "Well then…"

And so, mother and son left the house, leaving father and daughter inside- well the daughter reappearing moments later.

"Are you done packing my child?"

"Yes father…"

"Well then, before we move out… I'd like to show you something- something that I wasn't supposed to teach you but since we are moving to your grandfather's place… I might as well teach you that…"

Outside…

"Better start learning how to be a human on a planet once again my son… Time for you to progress and be yourself… and I do mean yourself."

Hallaoun Residence, Fifteen hours later, 10 AM.

"Eh, really?" Lindy was talking to someone on the phone. "Well then, should I send them over?"

Midori-ya Café, same time.

"Nanoha, would you mind washing the dishes while the guys have not yet returned?" Momoko spoke to said daughter, as she had just finished reloading the coffee maker.

Nanoha complied, disappearing into the kitchen. If Nanoha was popular with the clientele before, well now- let's say age-wise that she was now really popular. The family café Midori-ya was no longer just a stationside café, but also, according to some of the highschool boys, a place to spot one of the city's most desirable girls- well three of them if Fate and Hayate decided to come help at times- which was exactly the situation right now.

"Here you go…" Hayate spoke, giving an order of parfait to a table.

Well as those three girls are working, well let's say that Hayate's three knights also hold Earth jobs. Signum works in daycare as an assistant, while Shamal works in the hospital as an assistant nurse while Vita does time in the local baseball and croquet clubs. Surprisingly, for independent AI avatars such as them, they were surprisingly suited to their jobs- Signum gave the impression of a big sister to the children she was taking care of, while Shamal's "medical" knowledge was a big help in the hospital, while Vita's knack of whacking things was an added bonus to those clubs she was in.

Back at Fate's house…

"Okay then… I'll call them from the café…" Lindy spoke before she hung up and called for Amy. "Amy, do you mind going to café and tell Fate and the others to call back? I still have to ask Chrono if he's available."

"Sure Admiral, I'm going shopping anyway…"

At the newly acquired Scrya residence, town of Hajime, Haruhi Island.

"Yuuno… has the truck arrived yet?" Kyla called out outside, where Yuuno was waiting for the truck from the home center to arrive.

The keys to the house were secured just an hour ago, but the things Kyla wanted she had already purchased ten hours previously, even though most of the house's things were left behind, a quick scan by the admiral- ever the housekeeper, made many of the things 'unsuited' for the house, even if some were brand new- making her best course of action as donation to charity. As of this time, said order of new futons, a lawn and beach set, some new garden hoses, a single bed complete with mattress, some stools and small tables, new plates, various cups, saucers and many more things, were in transit- or so they say. In anticipation of the truck, Yuuno posted himself at the front gate, ready to notify his mother if it came or anybody else came as well. Unfortunately for him, Kyla had placed over the house a simple barrier to keep her son from transforming.

"Summer huh?" Yuuno could only think.

Back at the café, the three girls have been called into the kitchen by none other than Momoko. Inside, Lindy was there on the phone.

"Eh, Miss Kyla's house?!!" the three girls alarmed as to what Lindy had told them where to go.

"Yes, they just bought a house on the nearby island town and are moving in right now…"

Thirty minutes later, Hovercraft bound for Haruhi Island, 10:45 AM.

"Nanoha, what's the matter?" Fate asked to a Nanoha who was happily staring out the window.

"Just nothing…"

"Eh, really?" Hayate asked.

"Well, it's just that… we finally got the time to see each other…" Nanoha could only say.

Hayate could only giggle while Fate remained silent.

Scrya residence, fifteen minutes later, 11 AM.

Said truck arrives, with a tram stopping infront of the house, bearing the three girls- as it turns out the hoverferry they were on also carried the truck.

"Fate, Hayate… Nanoha." The boy could only say as the three came near.

"Yuuno-kun…" all three could only say.

"Uhm… excuse me, is this the Scrya residence?" the truck driver then asked.

"Why yes…" Kyla came out and replied. "Can you help us in moving in the furniture a bit?"

And so about an hour was spent on carrying in and arranging the new furniture, well actually, Kyla directed while Yuuno, the truck driver and his hand carried in the heavy stuff while the three girls carried the lighter items and arranged the minor details. And then, as the last of the stuff was placed in, some of the nearby neighbors arrive, bearing with them housewarming gifts.

"Uhm… excuse us, are the new neighbors here?"

"Oh dear…" Kyla stepped out of the house. "Visitors… sorry but we're still fixing stuff here."

"Don't worry, we always help whoever is in need, may be it a neighbor or a stranger…"

After thirty minutes of further help by the new neighbors, the house was ready for habitation, save the pond of course- since mother and son had no knowledge in Earth aquaculture, and the movement of non-native species between dimensions was a big no. After a few more hours of merrymaking by the neighbors, they finally left, leaving mother and son and the three girls.

Scrya Residence, after the housewarming party, 3:30 PM.

"That finally settles it…" Kyla finally puffed relief as she knelt down in the living room, the "kids" outside seeing the guests off. "And now, for one final movement…"

She then waves at the air, opening a communications screen directly to the Silvana. On the other end was Minerva.

"Are the preparations complete?" She then asked her AI. "The room is ready for him…"

"Of course 'mam… but isn't this a bit too risky?"

"I know the risks, but some fresh air and warm sun can help…"

"I can agree to that 'mam…"

Outside, Yuuno was giving the girls a tour of the wide backyard, which included beachfront with a concrete deep water pier near the rocky edge which marked one end of the public beach. In a sense, the house was the boundary of the beach which extended far to the right, if looking towards the sea. The beach already had vacationers enjoying the sun, sand and surf. Near one end of the shore were the various "marine houses", serving customers with shaved ice, ice cream, cold drinks, fruits (especially watermelon) and watercraft, from inflatable boats powered by paddles and engines to jetskis.

"I wish I could have brought my bathing suit…" Hayate commented.

"I have a new one…" Fate added to the conversation.

While those two were chatting away, Nanoha stands beside Yuuno.

"It's been a while…" Nanoha then spoke. "We're kind of busy nowadays…"

"You're right… I missed these times."

"Yeah… I missed them. I missed you too Yuuno."

"Same here… I missed…"

"Nanoha! Fate! Hayate!" a familiar voice came in, making them look behind them- the voice belonged to none other than Arisa, who was accompanied by Suzuka and being led by Kyla.

"Guys, some friends of yours dropped by…" the admiral spoke.

"We were not supposed to wonder but just then Amy came by and told us where you were…"

Kyla approaches the three girls and then asks in a whisper.

"Do they know?"

The three girls nodded.

"We were but then we were asked to stand by, so we decided to help Miss Kyla here move in…"

The two friends look back as to who let them in the house in the first place. They were a bit surprised at her beauty, not even Suzuka who had keen fashion sense was somewhat awestruck. Kyla now wore a simple light blue sundress, with a wide hat topped on her head, sandals on her feet and hair let down and terminating in a short tail near then end.

"I see that you two also know… I'm Kyla, a close friend of Lindy. And seeing that you know some things about the three of them, it's safe to say that…"  
"Close friend, you mean that…" Arisa then spoke, somehow realizing what that meant.

"Yes and no. I admire your deduction of what I have just said, and yes, I am one of Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate's bosses… and no, because I'm their new boss for this period."

As her mother talked, Yuuno whispered something to Nanoha.

"Do they know?"

Nanoha shook her head.

"And yes… girls, meet my son Yuuno…" Kyla then dropped a bombshell.

Arisa eyes the (ferret) boy suspiciously, making him nervous as she popped the most notorious question this side of the dimensional space.

"Have I seen you before?"

Silence reigned for a few seconds and then.

"Uhm… no…"

"Hmm… but you really look familiar…"

"Uhm Arisa, it's better not to ask people if they don't want to answer. True that he may be like Nanoha and the others- a mage, but he does not turn into a ferret or something…" Suzuka then stopped her friend's scrutiny of the (ferret) boy.

Sweatdrops formed behind the heads of the three mages and Yuuno- oh how right her concept was about that.

"True… but he sure looks like a rodent… I wonder if your cats will chase him." Arisa then spoke, letting him off the hook. "But for a rodent, he sure looks cute."

Unknown to the teens, in one of the rooms of the house, the soft glow of transport fills the room. From it emerged a hospital bed, a medical monitor and some cabinets, and on the bed was none other than our survivor. Also accompanying him were Minerva and her "child" Chacha- both in nurse uniforms.

"Okay mister KO, time for you to soak the sun, sound and salty air…" Minerva could only say as she and Chacha exited out of the room.

Takamachi residence, same time.

Shiro was in the dojo, standing some distance away in the middle of the floor. He then kneels and touches the floor. Suddenly a box of light is drawn and it slides away, revealing a set of stairs. He descended and went his way towards a dead end, stops for a while and looks, on his face the look of mild apprehension. Then, he began to walk towards the wall and amazingly, he passes thru.

In the meantime, Rein was once again looking over the city, and now, he had company, another male, this time with white hair and steel gray eyes, also of the same age as Yuuno for that matter. His most prominent facial feature was a scar running across his face.

"Got any trace of it…" Rein asked his companion. "…Aranth?"

"Still faint… but they did say that a sealed device calls out for an owner… I can only faintly hear it- though some of the beings here hear it loud and clear; they almost end up in an institution…"

"Figures in this world without magic- all so similar to the world our mistress had come from…"

"As well as the 'other mistress'… well actually, this world is what I'm talking about…"

"Well I hate to break anything good in you but I've heard that 'he' is here…"

"'He'?" Aranth asked.

"You know, 'he' who managed to stave you and gave you that scar… the Shielding Berserker…"

"Him huh? That's good… I can finally have the chance to finish him like I did to his father…"

"And finally gather the two blades huh? Probably, you can find the shield as well…"

"I may do that, I will do that, but only after that persona of protection falls by my hands- wait for me my dear Phalanx- just call out more…"

Two days later…

Our patient Kha was beginning to stir and moan in pain, the feeling of consciousness showing as dull pain, fuzzy images and muffled sounds.

"Ugh… where am I? Is this heaven?"


	5. The Breaking of a Cross

# 5: The Breaking of the First Sacred Seals: The Breaking of a Cross

The city was once again trapped in the clutches of a dei-type field, magical beings once again battling it out. In the middle of it was a really injured Nanoha and some distance infront of her was the person named Aranth, with an exquisite spear on his hands, raised for the fatal hit. In the distance were the helpless Fate and Hayate and in another area were the knocked out Wolkenritter. Rein was above Aranth and Nanoha and with a surprised look on his face, along with all who were present. And in the Silvana, shock was etched into Kyla's face. The reason, Yuuno- who had began to glow diffusely and with something showing- a really shining crystal cross necklace.

"How… Dare… you…" Yuuno began to hiss. "How dare you… lay your hands on Nanoha!!!"

"It's too late… the seal is no more…" Kyla could only say. "May the divine help us…"

---

Kha's Room, Scrya Residence, three days ago…

Upon detection of her patient's consciousness, Minerva made her way towards the room, so the first thing that the survivor can recognize is a length of blue hair.

"Ugh… are there any sacred beings here?" our patient began to speak, in groan at least.

"Sorry but you are not dead…" those were the only word he had heard before sinking back.

Bureau Main Office, AKA Macross Base, same time.

Lindy was having a staff meeting with some of the top brass and things are not looking bright.

"Not the Book of the Four Gods again…" Lindy shook her head. "How come that Class A artifact still remains loose despite our constant monitor? It almost as deadly as the Book of Darkness- but with people being sucked into it instead of linker cores…"

"Don't worry 'mam, our agent has the book in his possession and is trying to bring out the latest victim out of it…" one officer replied. "By reading the story… again."

"Good… and then next item on our list is the group of artifacts known as the 'Feathers of Sacred Memory'…"

"We still haven't found all of the pieces as of now, but we are still looking…" another officer replied.

"Good. And related to that artifact, how about those unknown slide signatures?"

"Still tracking… we will intercept them as soon as possible."

"Well then. And that leaves us with one important thing… the only survivor of the sinking of the transport ship Lacus- Kha der Kleriker…"

Upon mention of that name, the brass fell silent.

"We will eventually get to this gentlemen, so I suggest that we do it now."

"But if we do tell him, we might be in the best sense… screwed." One fellow superior spoke. "Really… screwed…"

"And how screwy would it be?" Lindy then asked.

"If by chance your plan on telling him on what happened triggers the release of that stored energy, who knows what will happen. Who knows what ingrained abilities brought about by the 'whispers' he may bring out to bear at our necks? It will spell annihilation for all of us I tell you!"

"Well…" one junior member of the brass spoke up. "That problem was made by you guys and we don't have any say in it becase we did not cause it in the first place… now you must attend to your messes and work this thing out."

"Watch your speaking… you are only…"

"People, people…" Lindy began to interrupt the sudden flaring. "We do adopt a policy of 'cause-effect' you know… but as head of the bureau, I'll make sure that he gets the message…"

"Admiral… it's your funeral then…"

Uminari City, same time.

Aranth was looking over the city, eyes carefully scanning the surroundings, and people as well. The expression in them was that of heartless cold.

"This world is too worthless…" he thought as he scanned the city once more. "But why would artifacts of such importance be placed here? And where could that cursed keeper be? This scar…"

He softly rubs his facial scar, remembering what had happened to him- and what he saw headed towards him that fated day- the blade of a sword.

"No use rushing things- as per order of our mistress…" he then thought as he vanished from the place where he was and then reappeared, in civil clothing, emerging out of a back alley.

And as if things were timed by some greater power, he suddenly bumps into somebody, a girl with long violet hair and wearing a conservative dress- it was Suzuka. Quickly as his reflexes can allow, he manages to grab hold of the girl and pull her out of the fall, all the while maintaining his cold face. When the scene finally settled, Suzuka found out what her place was- face too close for comfort. But before she spoke, Aranth stabilized her stand and let her go, also turning away and walking, finally vanishing into the crowd. Suzuka could do nothing except hold a hand to her chest- trying to make sure.

"Who was that?"

Midori-ya Café, 10:30 AM.

"New faces?" Nanoha asked her mother.

"Well since Reiko, Kinoko, Karen and Ai are going to summer classes, we need to…"

"Okay, but when are they coming?"

"They are supposed to be here now…"

Then, the back door opens, revealing three girls- one having shoulder-length green hair and blue eyes, one with boy length blue hair and violet eyes and the third one had waist-length brown hair and brown eyes, and also being carried on her arms was a fox.

"Ah… just in time too…" Momoko cheered. "Nanoha, meet Lian Fei, Akira and Nami…"

"Lian Fei Fo… you can call me Ren…" the green haired one introduced herself.

"Akira Joshima…" the blue haired one then followed.

"Nami Kanzaki…" the last of the trio then spoke, holding out her fox. "And this is Kuon… isn't she cute?"

"Nanoha Takamachi…" Nanoha simply smiled. "And this is my mother Momoko. My brother Kyouya and sister Miyuki are serving right now…"

"Nanoha dear, do you have anything to do right now?" Momoko then asked.

"No mom, but that depends if Fate and the others decide to call me or help here as well."

In the meantime out front, Yuuno (in normal form) enters the café, nervous as he places himself at an empty table- nervous because it was the first time he had been here- normally. Then, Shinobu approaches him.

"What can I get you?" Suzuka's older sister then asks the boy mage.

Yuuno was silent, somewhat figeting.

"Uhm…" he finally managed to speak. "Is Nanoha here?"

"Oh my… are you a friend of Nanoha's?"

"Uhm…"

"Nanoha… your boyfriend is here…" Shinobu then spoke- and all the staff heard that.

Quickly a glint formed in Momoko's eyes.

"Boyfriend? Hmm?" Nanoha then thought, somewhat unaffected while the three newbies were somewhat red on the cheeks. "I don't have one… but… unless a boy friend… that could only mean…"

Then, a sound of falling was heard, making all staff look at the table were Yuuno previously was- now said mage on the floor, fainted after hearing that. Quickly, Nanoha rushed to his side, all the while being watched by her mother, who had a different look than what she always had- somehow now of wisdom.

"That boy… he's got a lot of potential… and… I see… he's also the one most attuned to her- Nanoha sure picked the right one to be with- Shiro must know of this…" Momoko thought as she returned to the kitchen, while Nanoha tried to snap Yuuno out.

Minutes later…

"So why are you here Yuuno?" Nanoha asked said boy, after he had regained control of his logic, consciousness and most of all, his dignity.

"Well, mother told me to fetch you guys… since she's still buying some things for us…"

"'Some things'?" Nanoha wondered.

Shopping center, same time.

Kyla was in the same place that Lindy bought Fate her cellphone years ago, asking the same shopkeeper and somewhat asking the same question.

"Is this the latest model?"

Back in the café…

"And what did you mean 'fetch us'?" Nanoha then asked again.

"Well the guy we picked up is starting to wake up… once he fully regains himself, maybe we can ask him questions…"

"Why not do…" Nanoha then spoke and then whispered. "Any mental scans on him?"

"Oh look…" Ren noted softly. "They look so cute together…"

"Shh…" Akira countered. "You'll spoil the atmosphere."

"That's because my mom suggested to do it naturally…" Yuuno countered. "And also, it's much better if the person expresses it instead of being forced out…"

Silvana, in cloaked orbit over Earth, same time.

"It's been a while since I've seen Earth from this view…" Chrono sighed as he looked over the bridge.

"Yeah, yeah sir…" the radar operator replied. "Don't mumble… its bad form to the Goddess if you mumble…"

"Which one Duran?" Meyrin, the comms officer then asked.

"Who else except the Goddess Danaan… the life-giver…"

As if on cue, all the people in the bridge clapped their hands- it was tradition.

"Okay, enough with that… let's check over the list before the shift turns over…"

"Yes sir…" the comms officer only replied.

Scrya Residence, 11 AM.

"I'm back Minerva." Kyla spoke upon entering the house. "Any status?"

"He's coming back bit by bit- he managed to do 1.8 seconds before relapsing." Minerva spoke, voice heard despite that she was in the kitchen.

"Good… at least the sea air is helping… and is Yuuno back home?"

"He's still at the café when I last checked… shall I cook more?"

"No… just for the three of us. My son will have his first formal lunch within the hour…"

"Is that a good thing? Or a bad thing?"

"Both… at the most."

Midori-ya Café, Same time.

"Eh?" Yuuno suddenly wondered at Momoko's request.

"Yes… having lunch at our place will be a great idea, I'll call Fate and Hayate and tell them to come over… and then you can go then. And I didn't catch your name back there…"

"Yuuno, Yuuno Scrya."

"Scrya… but that means… I see now…" Momoko thought before smiling and asking. "And who are you to my daughter?"

"Uhm…"

"A special friend I suppose?"

Yuuno nods.

"Mom, you don't have to press him about it…" Nanoha began to counter.

"My, my Nanoha, I must know your friend as well too- and to be honest, this is the first boy friend that I've seen in your entire life… wait until your father hears about this."

"But mom…"

Takamachi residence, thirty minutes later, 11:30 AM.

Yuuno had no choice…

He simply did not have anything to stand up against Momoko Takamachi's suggestions…

In short, Nanoha dragged him or rather, he let Nanoha drag him…

Upon her mother's request…

And Nanoha's cheerful thoughts of course…

In really short terms, he could not resist.

"'It will be fun Yuuno…'" those words echoed in his mind.

"It sure feels smaller this way…" he then thought as he looked at the house.

"Come on, come in… Miyuki should be finished with lunch by now…" Momoko urged the boy in. "We're home…"

"Welcome home mom…" Miyuki called from the kitchen. "Kyouya and father are in the dojo if you need them…"

"Okay then dear, I'll be there in a moment." Momoko replied. "Nanoha dear, make your friend at home…"

As her mother went towards the kitchen, Nanoha led Yuuno to the sofa.

"Long time…" Yuuno could only say as he sat for the first time on the sofa, in human form.

"I'll bring something refeshing, okay?"

Yuuno nodded as Nanoha left towards the kitchen. In the kitchen…

"How's your boyfriend doing Nanoha?" Momoko then asked as said girl opened the fridge.

"Boyfriend?" Miyuki spoke. "Nanoha's got a boyfriend?"

"Mom, sister… he's not…"

"How dare you!" Miyuki suddenly pounced on Nanoha and began to shake her. "You're 16 and you have a boyfriend?!! Oh woe is me who is 22 and still have nothing…"

"But sister… he's a boy-friend! Not a boyfriend!"

"Oh? Really? A boy-friend?" Miyuki asked, trying to make sure that she wasn't upstaged. (To clarify, 'boy' and 'friend' as one word will denote the romantic meaning.) "Phew…"

"Well you're not getting any younger dear…" Momoko could only answer.

"What did you say mom?!!"

Back at the sofa.

"Here you go…" Nanoha offered her guest some juice.

"It sure feels different…" Yuuno could only comment. "The first time I'm here I was carried here…"

"Yes, by me… when you were injured… and I had to convince my parents just to let you stay here… now that I think about it…"

Nanoha suddenly stops in mid-sentence and lowers her head, a shot from another angle showing some red on her cheeks.

"Nanoha?"

"Uhm… it was nothing…"

As if on cue, Kyouya and Shiro enter. Both Nanoha and Yuuno stand up and bow.

"Good day sir…" Yuuno greeted.

"Ah… I can say that this is a first…" Shiro began to joke.

"Father… Yuuno is not my boyfriend, he's my boy-friend!"

"That is still a first, because the only friends I've seen so far are Arisa, Suzuka, Fate and Hayate… and some of your female classmates to boot. Young man, what is your name?"

"Yuuno… Yuuno Scrya sir…"

Shiro was suddenly startled, but quickly recovered and was not noticed.

"Scrya huh? That's one name I haven't heard in a long… long… time. So why don't you stay for lunch then?"

Lunch, with the Takamachi family.

"So you've just moved in right?" Shiro began to ask. "So that means… you were like Fate- I mean…"

"No worries sir, because Fate is also a friend of mine…"

"Ah… so that means…" Momoko then followed.

"You're one of those people, right?" Kyouya then ended.

Yuuno could only nod.

"Are you by chance Nanoha's partner at work?" Momoko then began the questioning.

"Partner you say? Uhm… I'm not really a field person like Nanoha here- I'm more in records and such…"

"Like a library?"

"Yes!" Yuuno suddenly replied, jolted at the right guess.

"Mom, Yuuno gets easily tense you know…" Nanoha then replied.

"Sorry there… here you go; some pudding." Momoko then spoke, handing them said dessert. "Go rest yourselves as I fix the dishes…"

"Let me help too dear…" Shiro suddenly butted in.

In the Kitchen…

"That was a name we haven't heard for a long time now dear…" Momoko commented. "Scrya…"

"Yeah…" Shiro replied, giving to his wife a plate. "I wonder…"

City Bus 12, Current Route: Central-Dockside/ICT via Ferry Terminal, Same time.

Kyla, who was only one of the three passengers on that bus, suddenly sneezed.

"Must have caught something…" Kyla thought as she took out a booklet titled "Basic Traveller's Guide to Earth- the Neutral World…" "Or is…"

She then browsed the booklet, and found something about…

"Huh? Someone talked about me? Preposterous, how could that be valid?"

Unknown space, Same time.

It was a somewhat colorful garden, with many flowers blooming along its green hedgerows. It was some sort of a maze of roses, with colors red, to the impossible blue. And among the rows of blue roses, someone had plucked one and was nestling it on her hands- wearing somewhat familiar-styled gloves- though they are in white. The other only thing seen is a somewhat familiar form of skirt, though it is in blue and black, with red jewels on certain spots.

Then, to one side of the person's vision, Rein appears, in his full attire, with his device Ballista slung on his shoulder.

"You called, my mistress?" Rein asks, bowing a bit.

"I just wanted to check on you… and my, you feel different." The person, identified as the one in the dark space, spoke.

"Am I?"

"Well… you seem to be glad at something…"

"Do I? Well, I did see someone while taking a break and…"

"A girl?"

"Uhm…"

"Do you like her?"

Rein goes silent, promting the girl in black to continue.

"If you like her… then date her then… tell her how you feel. Maybe she does like you…"

"Ma-ma-master!"

The girl then giggled, all thru their conversation, her face or any more of her features were still unseen- like now.

"You know… us girls love to hear those words- try a good gift first… and then follow thru."

Rein was still silent. Then, the plucked rose blocks his vision.

"Here… try this." The girl then spoke- the camera still only showing the hem of her familiar skirt and then her familiarly white-gloved hands, giving the rose. "In this world, a blue rose is an impossibility- and it also signifies extreme affection- if I remember it carefully… or was it the white one?"

"Mistress…" Rein began to almost plead. "You don't have to do this, save your thoughts and strength…"

"But I am your mistress, I have to take care of you- for you have been my parents, siblings and friends since that time… that time they all… they all…"

The archer's hand suddenly rests on the girl's shoulder- still not showing the girl's face or hair one bit.

"Don't worry… we will at least save this one…"

The girl simply placed her hand on top of his.

Uminari Central Business District Block 31, at the corner of Uchida and Saki Streets. 12:15 PM.

Said lot was undergoing excavation for a new bulding when one of the workers, who was checking on the excavation made by the machinery, namely the auger drill, suddenly found something in the piles of spoil.

"What the?" he thought as he saw something glinting in the muddy pile. "Wait!"

"What is it?" another worker asked. "Found a bomb?"

"No, something shiny."

The worker then digs at the spot where he saw the glint with his hands. And he then sees it, some sort of clear crystal rod with a purple cross embedded in it. As soon as he touched it though, he hears a metallic shrill and he suddenly covers his ears.

"Arrgh… what is that infernal sound?!!" he begins to scream, weakening and kneeling on the muddy ground in pain. "Turn it off! Turn it off!"

Meanwhile, some of the workers began to react to the shrill, to the notice of some of their comrades- who were somewhat oblivious and unaffected to it.

"Hey…" one of the "unaffected" went near to his partner. "What's the matter dude?"

"That sound… turn it off!!!" some of them began to scream.

"What sound?"

"Arrrrghh…"

Meanwhile in another part of the job site, one of the unaffected began to call on his cellphone.

"Emegency Services? Help us… several of my workmates have fallen to some strange thing… Symptoms? They all seem to hear some sound… No 'mam, I don't hear anything… Please hurry…"

Minutes later, a group of ambulances arrives at the scene, followed a few moments later by media and various examiners from various fields of study- this was a strange event.

City Bus 19, Current Route: South-Central via Ferry Terminal, Same time.

The onboard TV was showing the latest news flash.

"This just in, A mysterious event has just happened at the Li Tower Construction site, where several workers have been disabled due to a reported 'Infernal Sound'- the causes of their disablement still unknown other than this clue only. Police, Health Department and just every other expert on other fields are now here to investigate this mysterious phenomenon."

At the rear of the bus…

"What could that be Yuuno?" Nanoha asks her seatmate.

"I don't know…"

Then the bus stops and the door opens, enabling 2 people to get on the bus- those people being…

"Fate, Hayate… Over here!" Nanoha called, waving her hand.

Both the newcomers look at the TV.

"Sure strange isn't it?" Hayate asked. "I wonder if…"

"Probably not…" Yuuno answers, then looks around to check- luckily, except for the driver, they are the only ones in the bus, since the South-Central Route was not a frequently used route- the South-West via UME-T (Uminari Metropolitan Express Transit- Affectionately called "yumete", which is "to dream" in Japanese) Central was the preferred route, along with the Central-Dockside/ICT route. "But worth investigating later…"

Then a cellphone rings. Heads turn to see who has it- Yuuno.

"Yuuno…" Kyla's voice was at the other end.

"Yes mother?"

"Do you have the girls with you?"

"Yes…"

"Good, proceed to the site in the news, those workers may have just dug up a Sealed Device and have reacted badly to its luring system."

"'Luring System'?" Yuuno asks, mystified.

"All of the Sealed Devices have a system to lure any human, Midchildan or not, into taking it and activating it- it's supposed to work with those with unaligned magic potential but those workers have not one bit of force inside of them… another reason might be the 'Repulsion System'- the system that repels anyone from using the device- that only occurs when one already has a keeper. If that is so, find the keeper and check his or her alignment- I wish that is not of Dei we are dealing with…"

Central Bus Terminus. 12:45 PM.

They met up with Signum and Vita, who were also given word of the event.

"Where's Shamal?" Hayate asks.

"We called and she's at the site now, helping the paramedics- since the numbers of those affected were quite high." Signum replied.

"Okay then, let's go…"

Incident Site, five minutes later, 12:50 PM.

The site was clear except for the last ambulance, where they spot Shamal attending to one of the workers that had somewhat composed himself. Then, the worker was loaded into the vehicle and it sped off, leaving Shamal as the only medical person on site on station as first aid, while several scientists and others continue to scour the site. On the phone with Kyla…

"They only said that it began when they found a strange crystal…" Shamal replied to the query.

" Crystal? Did it have a cross inside of it?"

"I don't know but…"

Just then, a couple of scientists passed them, one of them holding the crystal from the incident. They all look at it.

"Oh dear…" Shamal could only say as the others began to run towards the two people.

Scrya Residence, same time.

"'Oh dear' what?" Kyla replied as the line went dead. "No way…"

She quickly rushed outside and saw what she had dreaded, the dome of a holding field was active in the city, normal people unaware of it happening.

"Commander…" the voice of one the sensor officer Meyrin came in mentally.

"Silvana, we have a problem…"

Battle Zone.

They were all suddenly surprised as to the sudden vanishing of the people around them and the crystal being dropped, only to see that they were in the clutches of a holding field. Hayate was about to grab the crystal when on cue, an arrow of light streaked from the sky and stopped her progress as it was planted on the ground, making them look up.

"Long time and long see…" a familiar voice to Nanoha and Vita came in- Rein.

"You…" Vita could only hiss.

"Hmm… except two beasts, it's the entire bunch…" the archer commented as he scanned the ground, the looked at the sky above him. "Why don't you help me here? This is after all your item…"

Then another figure appears above him- Aranth.

"I know… so shut up." Said new arrival puffed as he looked at them. "Now where is it… ah, there it is…"

Then, his Dei-type sigil appears at his feet, this time in yellow. He then looked at the dropped crystal intently, not even realizing that the people that they stopped were already stepping back. "Come to me, my rightful own… Phalanx!"

And with that, the crystal began to glow an evil sort of yellow (honestly yellow is not an evil color) and the cross began to move out of it, dissolving its container as it went. The cross then began to fly upwards to Aranth's open hands.

_"Commencer…(Starting…)"_ the cross spoke, in a disembodied voice.

Light rings began to surround the joints of the keeper as well as his head. Then moments later, strings of light burst from them and began to cover Aranth's body. His cross in the meantime began to change too, as the side arms separated from the lengthwise bar, those arms also split in half and all the pieces of the side arms docked to from a square, with the length bar in the middle of it. Then the square form rotates, covering the modified cross in a blur. Then out of it came a spear, excuisite in form, from it's wide point base guard to its tapered tip and the handle itself was a fine work in itself. Then, the light threads that enveloped Aranth's body began to take shape, into loose fabric armor, with some armor plating on the side, on the critical areas. He then grabs the spear and points it down, ready to…

"What the?" he could only wonder, as the people he was entertaining to vanished.

He then looks up and sees spears of light heading towards him- Hayate's Misteltein was upon him.

"Useless…" Aranth only says as he began to twirl Phalanx above his head. "Vortex Guard…"

A vortex of energy began to form and surround him, the petrifying attacks bouncing off and dispelling. He the stopped his spinning and then looked up more clearly, only the holders of the Velka were there- Rein had them in his sights though. It was Velka-Type Users against Aranth and Mid-Type Users against Rein.

At the Silvana, Kyla, who in the rush had forgotten to wear her uniform, came in the cruising bridge.

"Status?" was the first word that came out of her mouth.

"Two teams against two keepers…" Chrono, who was in his seat, replied. "So far, we can't get anyone in there. And they have another unknown in there…"

"The new device's keeper. Can we get anything from inside?"

"Still trying…" Meyrin replied. "But psychic projections are coming up blurred and hazy."

"Try to give me a good feed; we need to look in as soon as possible."

"Yes, 'mam…"

Back in the battle zone…

"Shoot!" Nanoha called out as her device charged up for her axcel shooter, sending out those beams of energy towards the archer.

"What the?" Rein could only think as he evaded each projectile that weaved thru just to hit him.

As he tried to shoot each shot, Fate closes in from behind, Bardiche aimed at him, which he dodges. Fate recovers from her attack while Nanoha's shots still follow him.

"Spatial Tunnel…" Yuuno, who was a bit far from the battle, chanted and then called something up Fate's line. "Nanoha, Fate, use the paths I've opened up to get to him, he may dodge your attacks, but he'll get hit one way or the other if he does not know where they are coming from."

"Okay…" Fate replied, entering into a "hole" that opened before her.

"Same here… Raging Heart…"

_"Buster Mode…"_ the device responded.

The weapon converted into its "blast convenient" mode, along with two cartridges being consumed.

"Divine…"

Meanwhile, Signum had managed to blocked Aranth's spear.

"You…" he then spoke to Signum. "You are of great skill… know my name at least for your funeral…"

"And of what name do you go by?" The sword knight asked, not really trying to strike a conversation.

"I am the Phantom Lancer… one who strikes…"

Said lancer then vanishes, making Signum look behind her immediately, where there he was, spear lunging towards her.

_"Grève de mirage (Mirage Strike)…"_ Phalanx responded, with the user passing the knight, not even touching.

"Like a phantom…" Aranth could only say as Signum's face suddenly showed shock.

Moments later, impacts and slashes appear on Signum, damaging her.

"Amazing, you still standing up?"

Aranth then sees Vita's attack spheres and the knight associated with them, hammer trained on him. In the meantime, Shamal went to assess Signum's status and also provide backup to Vita. It was now Vita's turn to block Phalanx's advances, faring well on behalf that her spheres were also attacking. It was even, sort to say.

"You've done Signum in well…" Vita commented as her foe vanished. "But, I can read your movements and your illusions- like that way!"

Aranth tried his illusion attack but Vita's spheres managed to stave him off. But then…

"You think I can only attack that way? Think again…" the lancer replied, standing firm.

To the surprise of them all, the spheres suddenly passed thru him and then, vanished, leaving two clones instead. Again and again, as the spheres pass thru what seemed to be visual fakes, more images appeared.

"I am a phantom…" the Aranths spoke as the flier spheres returned to Vita's hand. "And I attack as one!"

Vita began to evade the incessant surges, but to no avail, he was too much in number and much more skilled, managing to hit her on all sides and launch her up, helpless and unable to move. Then, the other visual copies vanish, leaving four, with spears being aimed at the point where Vita's falling body will pass by him. And they all yelled one by one…

"All…"

"Hail…"

"Grand…"

"DEIA!!!" they closed off the spiel in unison.

All four remaining lancers take off at breakneck speed, Phalanxes aimed at the now falling hammer knight. Those that were looking at it will never forget that image- four energetic spears hitting Vita's body at the same time.

"VITA!!!" Hayate cried, as only one lancer, the real one emerged.

Aranth then flung Vita's body towards the still recuperating Signum and attending Shamal, sending the lot towards the ground, namely the construction site. Nanoha and the others see it too.

"Hmp… only you?" Aranth then turns his attention to Hayate.

For the first time, Hayate begins to feel real fear, not fear from the threat upon her or the threat of whatever may happen, it was the fear of the unknown that had began to grip her, and it was etched into her face.

"No… go away…" she could only mutter. "Do-do-do-don't come near me…"

Aranth edged closer.

"No… don't… don't…" Hayate could only mutter, not even her combined capability (due to the fact that she was under unison at that time) was able to calm her down. "No don't…"

In the meantime below them, Shamal was able to stand up and compose herself, being ready for anything while tending had enabled her to at least ward off some of the impact force. She then sees the perfect moment and goes into action.

"I hope I can still pull this off!!!" she thought as she dove her hand towards the portal she created with her rings.

Aranth suddenly stopped, and then looked downwards, he only smirked at the sight- Shamal's hand sticking out of his chest, but with nothing on her hand. Shamal was shocked.

"Did I miss?" she asked as she again tried to grab the lancer's liker core and again failed. "It's…"

"Not in here… unfortunately…" Aranth spoke as he grabbed Shamal's arm. "My soul is currently in the hands of someone else. But I commend you, but nonetheless pity your wasted effort."

Then the area where the lancer was holding Shamal's arm began to smoke and erupt in an unholy purple flame. The pain was evident in the healer's face before she passed out, hand withdrawing from the attempted grab.

"Shamal!" Hayate again screamed. "Signum… Vita… no…"

"Hayate!" Fate notices and rushes over, but not before appearing out of a portal and hitting Rein so hard that he landed on his feet hard on the street, crushing the car that he planted his feet on.

But before he managed to fly away, five portals open from all directions and out came Nanoha's shots, hitting him hard and covering the area with smoke.

"Buster!!!" Nanoha calls out her most powerful normal attack, shooting out that powerful beam of destructive energy that friend and foe come to recognize- in fact, if Nanoha opened a battle with this move, the enemy would instantly know- her fame as a bureau ace was widespread. It was so widespread that once, a bounty was onced placed on her head by the underground, and had a gang of underground bounty hunters (bounty hunting is legal in Mid-Childa) ambushing her during one previous summer- with said hunters being knocked out and arrested- thus making her bounty too high for even the most daring to take.

"No way!" Rein alarms before he got hit again.

_"Plasma Lancer…"_ Fate's device, Bardiche responded with an attack command.

"What the?" Aranth thought as he heard the fire away from Fate.

He managed to evade and leave copies of himself so that the plasma shots would follow him, and it was true. But then, he realized something, she had more shots than he had clones that he can dish out.

"I'm at my maximum output…" the lancer thought as he evaded two, while some evaded three. "I can't overdrive in this condition and those other two are a problem, maybe not the Velka but for that mistress…"

_"Sonic Move…"_ Bardiche again called, speeding up Fate's movement speed, matching the Dei spearman easily.

While Fate began to pace with Aranth; Nanoha, after making sure that the archer was down, went towards the still shaking Hayate, with Yuuno following.

"Hayate, are you okay?" Nanoha asks.

Hayate is still shaking, and unresponsive.

Back in the Silvana…

"External is getting some images, but the feed is blurry…" the radar/sensor operator Meyrin replied. "And CLANNAD (Combat Layer Advancing Neural Network Assistance Device/Directive) is still making resolutions and clarifying the feed from psychic."

"Patch whatever feed we have…" Kyla could only say. "And lower the bridge- we may have to fire something, and in the worst of situations, in broad color."

Then a screen appeared, showing the battle between Fate and Aranth.

"That's Phalanx…" Kyla could only say, with knowledge only a keeper has. "The Phantom Lance… it has the ability of making its keeper- the 'Phantom Lancer' a warrior of illusion, using mirages to confuse and defeat the enemy. Only three among the sealed devices can withstand to it on a regular basis- My Vulcan, the still unseen Scutum and…"

Kyla could only stop in mid-sentence, as the in-zone screen was now showing Yuuno.

"Please, oh Divine Intervener… oh Divine Goddess Dike… please, never allow what had happened before to your child… as one of your children, please…" Kyla began to pray.

Meanwhile, at the farthest end of the battle zone- in the direction Yuuno was facing, unseen, someone wearing a cloak and hood was there, watching at the battle. The only things peeking out of the cover were strands of green hair and at her feet, was a white magic circle in the lines of the Mid-type, but very different, as the small circles that tip one of the overlapping squares had no characters in them, instead only one of those characters was in the big middle space of the circle- the Terran Greek small letter for Omega.

"The time has come…" a comforting, yet cold female voice came from the being. "I cannot intervene anymore…"

At the other extreme end of the field, in the direction opposite- behind Yuuno, another unknown was there, this time in a blue cloak and hood, with long strands of black hair coing out and sad yet glad eyes looking in the distance. But the only thing further noted is that the formation this person is standing on was in the lines of the Dei-type, and colored green.

"Yunno…" the figure spoke in a sweet yet sad female voice, and then one hand went to her chest.

At this point in time, Aranth spots Hayate being taken away by both Nanoha and Yuuno. And with one pass of Fate's device, he suddenly vanishes, only to reappear behind Fate. But that was not the real lancer, for the real one was under cloak, his device aimed towards Nanoha and Yuuno in a firearm fashion.

_"Forme soufflante (Blasting form)…" _Phalanx responded, deploying fins near the base of the lance point and deploying handles complete with a trigger on the lance handle.

It then began to charge, accumulating energy. Then the fins began to spin counter clockwise, allowing the energy to spin and flow even faster.

"Overdrive!!!" Aranth then thought, thus allowing his device to spin even faster and even eject cartridges. "Take this…"

He then pulled the trigger, sending out a line of light towards the two. Fate was busy with the illusion so she did not notice, so did Nanoha, who was carrying Hayate- only Yuuno's senses had managed to sense it. He pushed off both girls and raised his shield just in time, it held but he was pushed off and away towards the ground, but he managed to deflect the beam towards the now trying to stand up archer. The shot hits, again covering that area in dust and smoke, but now the archer hidden in it was wondering from who, what or where did that shot come from.

"Oops…" Aranth could only think as he was now spotted by Nanoha and Fate. "But nonetheless… the Velka's next…"

Nanoha fires off her buster, but Aranth evades and cloaks afterwards. Both active mages are now on the lookout with Hayate still senseless and crying. Then the enemy appears not just once, but many times, again his illusion technique working against them. Melee and ranged attacks in multiple instances, Nanoha and Fate were now barely able to keep up, not only against the number of enemies, but also trying to keep Hayate out of harm. But then, the number gets the better of Hayate. Multiple ranged shots came from all directions, which impacted at the just-in-time rasied defenser barrier from Fate. It stood, but as Fate was concentrating, Aranth had the perfect time to attack her- appearing from behind her.

"Impact Slam!!!" Aranth called, slamming Phalanx hard on Fate's back and sending her towards the still shielded Hayate.

The beams that were still attacking the shield suddenly turned towards Fate, along with a few more shots. Fate then slams into Hayate and the beams hit the two of them.

"Fate! Hayate!" Nanoha simply alarmed as both of them plummeted towards the ground.

That moment became the turning point and the cause of next scene. Aranth appears behind the still worried Nanoha and does the same attack, this time sending her towards the ground near where Fate and Hayate had slammed, also rolling a bit before stopping, face down on the ground. Aranth continued his attack on Nanoha, hitting her with shots from his device. The utter mercilessness was being captured by the now fully clarified and rendered feed on the main monitor of the Silvana's combat bridge.

"This isn't happening…" Chrono could only utter in disbelief.

At that moment, Kyla begins to clutch her chest and mumble in pain.

"Captain, what's the matter?" Chrono then asks.

"This… this… this pain…" Kyla muttered. "It can't be… the seal…"

"Seal?"

Meanwhile, Yuuno had now dug himself out of the rubble which he landed on. He then sees the ranged assault on Nanoha and something clicks inside of him- images of people on the floor, pools of blood, screams for help and finally a girl being killed.

"NO!" he could only think as he ran. "This is… this is… just like the last time…"

Just then, something peeks out of his shirt neckline, a blue crystal cross.

Rein had finally dug himself out of the ground and flew over Aranth's head, as said lancer landed infront of Nanoha's still down form.

"Hey, you'll pay for that cheap shot!" Rein spoke.

"I know, so shut up…" Aranth replied back.

Nanoha was now totally injured and weak from the attack as her foe stepped up to her. Sadistic happiness was on Aranth's face as he began to raise Phalanx.

"For our mistress, we have to kill you…" He spoke as he now aimed. "Now… what the?!!"

The lancer noted a stone headed towards him but Rein shot it down. The two then look at the intruder.

"How dare you…" Yuuno began to speak.

Spell ribbons began to appear on Yuuno's body and began to stretch, as if some internal force was ripping them from the inside.

"No… the seal…" Kyla could only mutter.

"How dare you…"

The cross pendant, which began to float, begins to shine.

"No Yuuno, don't!" Kyla began to scream.

"How dare you… How dare you… How dare you lay your hands on Nanoha!!!"

The light began to envelop those who saw it. And the expression on Aranth's face was that of realized shock.

"No way… that's…"

He could not finish his sentence as he felt something was upon him, forcing him to block. Then the glare fades, and the situation had become clear now. A big broadsword with a gap in the middle was being blocked, and the holder, was none other than…

"Is that Yuuno?" Chrono could only ask in disbelief. "No way…"

It was Yuuno, now wearing a somewhat mechanized green and gray armor- a contrast to the lancer's which was more like cloth and plating rather than full plating.

"It's too late… the seal is no more…" Kyla could only say. "May the divine help us…"

_"Estafilade de Foudre (Lightning Slash)…"_ The sword spoke and then, pure Greek Cyrillic letters began to show on the face of the sword, glowing light blue.

Yuuno then performed a fast slashing attack, forcing Aranth to back off.

_"Estafilade de Rafale de Vent (Wind Gust Slash)"_ the sword again spoke, showing another set of letters in the same light blue color, and with wind gathering around the blade.

"Take this!!!" Yuuno again called, blasting the gathered wind towards the lancer, blasting him off his feet.

"The hell?" Rein then thought as he aimed Ballista. "Multi Shot!"

_"Réflexion (Reflection)…"_

"Let's see how you can bear your own shots!" Yuuno replied, using the flat face of the sword to stop the arrows and bat them back towards the archer.

As Rein was hit by his own arrows, back in the Silvana, things were hectic.

"What's happening here Admiral?" Crono began to question as the others, particularly Minerva began to scurry. "I need an explanation…"

"Spadona, the shielding sword. Gives its keeper, the 'Shielding Berserker' the capability to protect and destroy at the same time…"

"You're not answering my question Admiral…"

Kyla kept silent. Now, Yuuno had knelt beside Nanoha and raised one of his more familiar moves, the extended round guarder, enveloping Nanoha and now starting to heal her.

"Yuuno…" she can only speak as she managed to sit up.

"Stay here… I'll take care of them."

Meanwhile, the person with the white formation began to shake her head.

"I may have to intervene soon." She can only say as she made a fist on her right hand and the formation began to glow brightly. "No, now!"

With one powerful move, she punched the ground hard, sending a ripple throughout the closed space, which the two dei users felt. But then, Aranth sees Spadona heading towards him and blocks- that is when it happened. The space began to show rents of light- the holding field was cracking. As Yuuno pushed him back, the field gives way, showing the battle in full color. People that were oblivious one moment, were now surprised the next.

"This is not good!" Kyla alarmed. "Beam them here now!"

"Not good…" Rein spoke as he dash-grabbed Aranth.

Instantly, the magical entities vanish in flashes of light, suprising people and that part managing to be caught on camera.

"What was that?" a policeman asked.

Then the sound of collapsing structures and sudden yells began to fill in.

"My car!"

"The building!"

"What the?!!"

Moments later, Takamachi residence.

"This just in…" the TV began to broadcast. "Another strange event has just occurred in the site of the mysterious incident this morning."

Momoko was watching the TV, as it showed blurry footage of the situation- but somehow, it was all clear to her.

"Not again… They must have found her…"


	6. The Signs of a Cross

# 6: The Breaking of the First Sacred Seals: The Signs of a Cross

Silvana, in cloaked orbit over Earth.

"Take them into the CR-ICU (Combat Response/Ready ICU) stat!" Dr. Chandra called as the injured were being taken from transporter room C towards sickbay.

Only Yuuno was left behind, still in armor and holding the device, with tears flowing. He then faces his admiral mother, who went there to check on things.

"I'm sorry mother…" he could only say as he powered down and fainted in her arms.

"Apology… accepted." Kyla could only say, and began to sob as she held him.

Five Minutes later, in a hallway near sickbay.

Kyla was there, with Chrono and Minerva standing before her.

"Chrono, Minerva… It's about time you hear the real story behind Yuuno."

"About Scrya-kun?" Minerva asked.

"Yes. And how 'it' happened…"

* * *

Ten years ago, Scrya Clan Complex, Karus Continent, Planet Eiron, North Sector, Midchilda. 

Kyla, always the bookworm, was at the computer in the clan library, multiple screens appearing and vanishing at whim- floating screen technology was new and expensive at that time but the clan had managed to purchase due to the demands of not just their personal use, but also of the university they run- it is not just a clan of scholastics, but also of public servants and educators as well. Then the door opens, revealing her husband Mertho.

"Honey, where is Yuuno?" he asked. "He has to attend grade school in an hour."

"He's with Illie-chan… playing around in the garden I suppose."

"I suppose… Illie-chan is coming over here more frequently- I noticed."

"Yes, thankfully, Dr. Precia was so kind to allow her to let her visit Yuuno for a longer time- perhaps that boy she has with her changed her- even though the admiral had passed away. And ever since Illie-chan came, Yuuno's been a bit too active."

"Illie-chan's a girl; we can't blame her… even if she is a reactive Edelian…"

"Oh no, I won't allow any reactive Eldelian girls to turn my son into their 'pleasure'…" Kyla scolded him a bit.

"That sounded sooo wrong. Okay, I'm off to find them again."

"Wait, I'll come with you…"

Meanwhile near one of the ornamental ponds, the five year old Yuuno and a girl with long black hair and azure eyes of the same age were running around, though the girl's legs were bound in spell ribbons, slowing her down.

"Yun-kun! Hey! Wait up!!!" the girl spoke as she tried to catch up. "And you're unfair, using that spell Auntie Precie taught you..."  
"I did not, you did it and so I simply tossed it back…" the boy spoke.

"Unfair! Unfair! Unfair!"

The girl's complaining got the better of him, making him go near her and with a few words, removed the binding- chance for the girl.

"Got you!" she then said, pushing him to the pond.

The boy goes into the pond bith a big splash. As the splash clears, we can now see that the boy was flailing in the water.

"Yun-kun?"

"Can't swim!"

"Yun-kun!"

Chance for the boy- his hand suddenly shot up and grabbed his playmate's arm, dragging her into the pond. Then the girl realized that the boy had tricked her- since the pond was only waist-deep.

"Yun-kun you meanie! Meanie! Meanie! Meanie!" the girl could ony pout as she softly slammed her fists on Yuuno.

"Not again…" Kyla's voice came in, making the two kids look. "Okay, out of the pond before the fish do…"

"Yes mom…" Yuuno could only say, stepping out, followed by the girl.

"Okay you two; take a bath and prepare yourselves for school…" Mertho then spoke. "And Illie, you'll be staying here for a while your auntie does work…"

"I do wonder as to why Alexei was not dropped here too… as well as Alicia." Kyla then asked as the two went out of their sights.

"Lindy's place?"

"No, no, no… the doctor is scared of her now… remember Clyde's death anniversary? Lindy treated us out to a bar and then it happens. After drinking about three Featherdusters- yes featherdusters… she became drunk and started scaring the bartender…"

"Whoa, featherdusters? The bar drink that you can never get drunk?"

"Exactly… and the doctor had forgotten about Lindy's AT and all the bindings went to her instead. I wonder what 'she' will say when she hears of this?"

Meanwhile, in one of the many bathrooms of the complex, Yuuno the girl named "Illie" were cleaning themselves up in the tub- the girl sitting in it and the boy about to stand up.

"Ne, Yun-kun…" "Illie" began to ask. "Am I pretty?"

"Pretty?" the boy sort of stammered, but then recovered and squinted because of all the steam fog in the room. "I can't see anything in this fog…"

"Puu you meanie… that's not the right way to answer that question! Meanie! Meanie! Meanie! Meanie!" the girl began to pout and splash water on him.

"Illie-chan! Hey!"

Moments later, the Matriarch was passing by that particular area of the complex, she suddenly heard the splashing and proceeded to scold the two, by mental means.

"Children… don't play in the tub…"

The children could only giggle.

Fifteen minutes later…

"We're going…" both kids waved off as they boarded the bus.

"Okay, have fun dears…" both parents waved off as well.

While that was happening, little did they know that they were being watched upon.

"Is that them?" a familiar voice came in- Aranth.

"Still unconfirmed, but the location of three of the devices is in that complex…"

"Good, ready the men and the drones, we'll attack soon…"

"Yes, my lord…"

---

"Little did I know that on that day, three tragedies would befall me…"

"What kind of tragedies?" Chrono asked.

"The first was the disappearance of the good doctor, the last two were…"

---

Six hours later…

Suddenly, an explosion rocks the complex alerting all.

"What was that?" Kyla asked, disturbed from her nap.

Meanwhile, where the explosion had occurred, the first people on the scene were not just contending about the fire, but also at who came in.

"Intruders!" several of the staff alerted and took out their weapons on hand, may it be a gun, sword or a staff. "Defend the Archives!"

Meanwhile, at the front gate of the complex, oblivious to the trouble at the back, the bus had arrived and had safely conveyed the two kids back. Upon their feet touching the ground, the matriarch, Kyla and Mertho were alerted.

"The kids are back, this is not good…" Kyla spoke as she did a quick 180, now headed towards the front.

But then more news filters in via the psychic line.

"Yuuno and Illie are now here and the intruders have now moved near the front!"

"Not good!!!" Kyla then thought as she ran faster.

Back at the front of the complex, the kids were spotted by what seemed to be a humanoid robot with a spear on its hands, its single mechanical eye glowing before dashing towards them. But before it came within striking distance, it was crippled by a couple of shots from a servant's gun. The servant then approached them.

"Are you okay, young masters?" said servant asked as Kyla approached them.

"Are you okay you two?" She then asked.

Both kids nodded.

"We need to take them to the shelter at the Central Archive. Follow me and stay close!" Kyla then said, charging a ball of energy on one hand as they moved along slowly, as not to be spotted.

Meanwhile near the Central Archive, Mertho was in a battle with five robots, him toting a dark red colored sword with one hand. Then, bright red runes showed up on the flat edge of the sword and the sword itself was then engulfed in flame. He then charged for the nearest attacker, parrying the attacks that came from it. He then spots an opening and slashes down the opposer in one smooth move, burning it up as it went down.

"Let's bring this party down in one fell swoop…"

"_Sortilège de foudre (lightning enchantment)…"_ the sword then spoke, now, yellow runes showing up and the blade began to show sparks- that sword was a sealed device.

And with one hit, all the remaining attackers were down, damaging sparks coursing thru their former animate bodies.

"Heh…" Aranth's voice came from behind him. "You are handling that tool pretty well… but with that, eventually, you'll find yourself wanting to find the other half…"

"And?"

"You seem not to care… but eventually, you'll will suffer, and perish. I'll just hasten the process…"

"Well you seem to care… care too much that you are getting possessive… I'll learn you boy."

"Try me…"

Aranth then summoned a spear of energy and proceeded to attack, with more attackers joining in the battle. Meanwhile, his mother the Matriarch, joins somewhat a far distance- at the rear of the Central Archive, taking care of the drones that wandered there.

"Pulsar Wave!" the matriarch called, shooting out a powerful wave of energy that instantly took out a couple of enemies. "Echo Lock!"

Suddenly, rings of binding energy lock most of the drones that had managed to evade, but the "echo" of the wave she unleashed managed to splash on them. Then, the remaining free drones began to circle her as she closed her eyes and began to chant a long aria in the ancient tongue.

"_Intrementer intraelis, inistrae majoren… Agistrae mintrael, destrin ageol… __Tearen ditrias, nilitis meus… Karimen treulde, apnis ilden deites! Tearen Sancrimae! (Oh Internal Incrementer, I ask of great favor… Destroy all enemies around me… Shower them with tears of the divine… And cleanse them of their sins and lives! Sacred Tears!)"_

At that instant, millions of needles of light came from the sky and hit each drone, each one disintegrating after taking a substantial amount of needles. She then senses two more behind her, the only ones that were not hit by the rain of energy needles. Despite being old at the age of 68, she managed to slide past them without even running- she was using a time manipulation spell unique to her clan, Time Slip. She then slips by them one by one, tapping them only once on whatever spot she could tap on. After she slipped past them, she simply snapped her fingers, breaking them into pieces.

As that progressed, the complex was gradually being swept clean of any intruders, except for the area near the Central Archive where Yuuno's father was now being surrounded by the visual clones of the yet-to-be lancer. He was now bleeding from the spear strikes he received from his remaining enemy and from the drones that he had felled using his sealed device.

"How pathethic, you, a keeper unable to keep pace with me, who is yet to be?" Aranth mocked. "You will die…"

"Heh… even if I do you'll still fail in taking the devices…" Mertho mocked back, upsetting his foe. "You'll never get your hands on the 'Prince's Shielding Sword'… as that weapon was forged by the provider of life herself- and was given to her son as a memento of his origins, not so as to remind him of his divine birth, but to remind him that he has to protect someone, his fated 'Priestess of Hope'…"

"The Heiress… bah! I will acquire the two blades and the shield and gain power for our ideals… for the master. Starting with yours!!!"

Then, Kyla, the servant and the kids round a corner, into the worst scene so far. In the simplest terms, the enemy had succeeded, impaling Kyla's husband thru the heart.

"Not bad, but this time, you lose…"

"Heh… die." Aranth could only hiss as he dug the spear deeper.

Kyla's yelling then turns the killer's attention towards her.

"I'm sure you wanted to follow him… I'll let you and your folk then."

---

"How terrible…" Chrono could only say at the next lines Kyla had said. "He had seen two deaths- one was greater than the last."

"And then, clutching the body of the girl, he began to break down." Kyla then spoke, memories of that scene still fresh. "I was injured beyond my physical endurance, and even trying to look up straight was a pain."

---

"Yuuno…" Kyla could only groan as she tried to see her son, who was still hugging the bloody, expired body of Illie.

"Why?" the boy began to ask, in tears. "Why did you hurt her?"

"Disturbance…" Aranth replied. "But you'll soon join her…"

"She was my friend…" Yuuno began to mumble. "And you killed her…"

"Huh?"

"She was my friend… And you killed her…"

Aranth edges closer.

"She was my friend… And…" Yuuno suddenly looked at him, eyes bloody red and blank. "You killed her…"

The lancer-to-be suddenly stops, as the boy began to stand up and took out something from within the folds of his shirt, a blue crystal cross pendant. In a flash, a huge broadsword, tinted blue and shiny-sharp as any honed blade, was on his hands. In an instant, reactions came, both of shock and awe.

"Oh Danaan… what have I done to your son?" Kyla could only say as she fainted.

"No way… that's the other sword…" Aranth could only say. "Now you are really dead!"

The young boy suddenly disappears and reappears behind the enemy. Aranth was taken off-guard by the flashed move and suddenly, he was dispatched by the boy's sword in two strokes, one upward in the chest and the downward slash across his face. Yuuno's enemy staggered back a hand to his now bloody face.

"My face… My face… My precious face… My precious!!!"

* * *

"Soon afterwards, after that enemy disappeared, he then proceeded to destroy each and every remaining drone. After he was finished, he simply knelt where the girl had died in his arms and cried one last time before fainting. Then came the hardest parts, cleaning up and returning back to the way things were. Two funerals- then it became five five days later, when we heard news that the good doctor Precia had been reported dead, along with Alicia and Alexei- those were the hardest memorials that we had to make."

"But what about the 'seal'?" Chrono then asked.

"In order to contain his capability and not allow it to overwhelm him, I used a powerful energy binding spell to contain not just that power inside of him, but also the device he had carried since birth. In the process, I now have only a slim chance of living after fifty, since the spell exacts a heavy toll depending on the degree of power it has to seal- that gives me about five more years. But now that it was broken, I'm no longer sure how long I'll live. But days later, a minor joy that had deemed significant had occurred…"

The scene suddenly cuts to Kha in this room, with Chacha watching. His eyes began to slowly but surely, open. The back in the ship moments later, a screen pops up beside the conversing officers.

"Ah Chacha, what's the matter?" Kyla greeted.

"Is mom there?"

"No dear, she's still busy at the moment… why?"

"The man is awake… and he looks scary…"

"Okay then dearie, we'll take him from there… just hold him…"

Meanwhile, our patient began to groan. As he did that, Chacha looks at him in her normal child manner and clasps her hands together.

"I hope this works…" she said softly as she concentrated. "Unyuuuuu…"

Just as the patient tried to sit up, spell ribbons suddenly wrap him and tie him to the bed.

"What the?!!" his drowsy state was suddenly changed to alert as the sudden tiedown shakes him. "Hey, what gives?!!"

"Nyuuuuuuuu…" the child robot continued.

"Hey, what's the meaning of this? Hey, what the heck is happening here?!! You cowards! Show yourselves and stop using this girl! Let me go you sons of…"

In an instant, the room is engulfed in a flash, leaving with it no bed and only a pouting Chacha.

"Hey, why was I not picked up? Mom!"

Then a screen showing Minerva suddenly appears.

"What is is dear?" the somewhat worried avatar asked.

"Puuuuu…"

Sickbay Suite 20, Moments later.

The survivor of the transport ship Lacus' sinking, Kha was now sitting up on his transported bed, Chrono, Kyla, and the just arrived Minerva (with Chacha on hand, who was licking a lolipop) infront of him.

"And who are you guys?" Kha asked, tone bordering on insubordination- who wouldn't if you were suddenly tied down and shanghaied.

"Calm down, we're friendly…" Kyla then replied, sitting on a chair beside his bed. "Admiral Kyla Scrya, Division Commander, First Exatactical and 106th transport groups…"

"'The 'Phantom Maids'…" Minerva then filled in Chrono's somewhat confused mind. "You only know of 105 transport groups right? That's the 106th. And the 'First Exatactical' is…"

"The Silvana huh?" the patient replied. "Where is…"

"The ship you were on, the Lacus, has been sunk… you are the only one left…"

"I see… so he…"

"Who is he?" Kyla then asks.

"I call him Rushie- that's his family name by the way… He's the 'unwanted brother that irritates you often' type of person, but… he's the only person who really understands me… who always talks to me and is always there to offer a drink- you know, that kind of person."

Kyla then stands up.

"Rest and gather your strength, once you recover, you will be given time to mourn and a full inquiry will follow…"

The three officers (and child) left the suite, leaving him in deep thought. Luckily, bureau procedures had stated that the belongings of the injured must be on the table beside them. He manages to get two things from the tray, his intact data tablet and a silver cross necklace. He then proceeds to browse thru the tablet's contents of pictures, each of them with him and his Rushie buddy in it- parties, at work, even at his buddy's home- they were like brothers in each of the shots.

"Rest in peace brother… may your memories stay in the light forever…" he could only say as he now wore his pendant, and suddenly went back to dreamland once again.

In the meantime, Kyla was now in a conference with Dr. Chandra and the ship's chief engineer, Seira Lanaway.

"Takamachi's injuries are the worst among them- multiple force burns and high impact injuires- I still don't know what else is there. Vita's not faring any better, puncture wounds consistent with a lance are present, but luckily, that the only injuires she sustained. Signum got multiple slash wounds and force burns, Shamal's force burn on her arm had reached the fourth degree and had injured a major, yet non-critical node in her arm- she would need at least a couple of weeks before she can magically use her arm- but right now, that arm is as normal as a neutral's. Yagami got it mentally and Hallaoun is luckiest of them, only suffering impact injuries at the cost of her barrier jacket."

"And my son?" Kyla asked.

"He's in suite 14 along with Takamachi… severe impact injuries and core drain did him in- effects of using a powerful device such as that sword…"

"And here's the status of their devices and armors…" Seira then spoke. "Only two had suffered damages- Nanoha and Fate. The lower half of Nanoha's jacket has been completely destroyed, and the data associated with it in her device was corrupted by the battle. But we managed to save most of the jacket data except for part of her skirt that was five inches from her waist down. And Fate's the unluckiest- her jacket was not just completely destroyed, but we also failed to salvage any data of from her device. Either we build or let Fate create… as for Nanoha's, just a little modification- I wish that jacket data can be reprogrammed to the original settings, so that when the jacket ends up like Fate's, we can easily resummon it…"

"That's life Seira, that's life… Well then, Seira, you keep me informed on any changes you will do, and Doctor, update me on their status, okay?"

"Yes 'mam."

Kyla then procceded to the nearest communications panel and brought up a line to the bridge.

"Bridge, this is Kyla, set course for Macross immediately but gently…"

The crew then felt a momentary change in inertia, as the ship began to accelerate out of orbit, into a course that was suited for sublight/warp travel. The ship then dived into hyperspace, but kept its speed low for the benefit of the injured.

Twelve hours later, 3/4ths of the way to base.

"Okay then, you can walk but you still need to return to your suite- your comrades are still down and only Dr. Chandra can sign the release form." The nurse was speaking to someone in suite 15.

Then the door of sickbay suite 15 opens, revealing Fate in what happears to be standard terran hospital patient wear. She walked slowly, taking the view the hallway windows were providing- a clear view of hyperspace. Then, when she was infront of suite 20's door, a passing energy entity (ball, stream or whatever) whizzes by the window, startling and unbalancing her, making her fall towards the door. The door, by virtue of its automatic system, opened up and Fate landed on the floor of the suite, hard on her bottom.

"Aw…" Fate could only groan as she rubbed her sore behind. "Who could have unlocked this door?"

She manages to stand up and then notices someone sleeping in the bed.

"Huh? Who could this be?" Fate could only think as she slowly approached the bed. Also supporting the question was the fact that she had woken up with a still unconscious Hayate in the room.

She edges closer to the bed and finally, she catches a glimpse of the man who lay there, serenely sleeping.

"Who could this be… he seems so…"

Her eyes then went towards the pendant that he wore, a silver cross- which locked in the final word in her thought.

"… Familiar…"

Meanwhile, in another corridor, Chrono had a sudden urge to ask something.

"Did you lock suite 20?" he asked Minerva.

"No, I thought you locked it, did you?" the AI avatar responded.

"No… did the captain?"

"She's not the type to lock in any sick people in their rooms… but tie them on their beds she will."

Chrono could only sweatdrop- that sounded wrong.

Back to our sleeping patient. As soon as he began to slept, visions began to flow. But before he can comprehend them, he was now sitting in an orchard. He looked above and recognized the tree he was sitting under.

"A Cenelope tree…" he thought as he looked up front to a patch of. "Watermelon…"

"Welcome child…" the voice that had spoken to him and the white robed figure associated with it came into view.

"Why? What now?"

"Let me ask you something. What is a mirror to you?"

"A mirror? That's an object that is used to see one's self…"

"How about the words 'independent reflection'?"

"Yes I do… but what does it have to do with anything?"

"A lot… you had visions as of late, am I correct?"

He simply nodded.

"What you are seeing right now is an independent reflection, and the mirror it is reflected on is slowly breaking."

"The Alicia is saw is just a reflection?" he then asks, a bit puzzled.

"Not all of them… only the last."

"Only the last?"

At this time, he began to groan, startling Fate. She was so startled that she ran, depite her condition. But before she disappeared into the hallway, our patient manages to get a glimpse of her hair.

"Yellow?"

"Rose Garden", same time.

"There you go…" the black-clad girl could only say as she tied the bandages on Rein's shoulder, only her hands showing as of this time- and again those hands were looking familiar, like a certain girl who is injured right now. "Until 'she' gets here, that will do."

She then proceeds to Aranth, who was mumbling angrily.

"There, there… just because you got beat up again does not make you qualified to get angry that way."

"But, that guy… that guy that was with her… he's the one who made me look this way!" Aranth grumbled.

"If 'she' cannot heal your face, then there is nothing I can do… I'm sorry." The girl replied, sadness evident in her tone, making the lancer blink.

"Don't fret… I'll not be angry anymore- I'll reserve all of it for the next encounter."

"Good…" the girl's tone went back up. "And there she is."

They look towards the far end of the garden- someone was approaching them, two to be exact. Upon closer inspection, one of them was the blue-hooded girl, now with the hood down and her companion, a floating woman wearing a mechanized jetpack of sorts, with round glass "wings" on the sides of it, hands carrying a basket. They then pass someone hiding among the tall rows, leaning on the bushes.

"Here we are…" the woman in blue spoke, and her "servant" setting down the basket to a table that had just appeared in the middle of their area. "I see that injuries are abound…"

Aranth grumbled. Then, the woman proceeded to heal Rein, with her power, allowing the one in black to greet.

"Long time no see, Sister Illie…"

"Same here. And I forgot, 'He's' here…"

"Not 'Him'…" Rein could only mumble as the stranger who was leaning among the bushes appears.

He was a man of normal stature, almost unholy silver hair with matching red eyes, red uniform evoking a sense of familiarity with space captains, a small silver cross necklace hanging by his neck, and a small grin on his face as he passes Rein and taps his bandaged shoulder.

"I heard that you've been done in well…"

"Nice going Tom…" Aranth could only chuckle a bit. "Serves him right…"

"Aw! Shut up hamster-boy…" Rein could only mumble as the woman in blue went to him and proceeded to heal him

"Hey! Only certain people call me by that name you silly-sally boy."

Then, as the two began to stare at each other's faces, the black-clad girl speaks.

"Nice to see you again, Uncle Tom."

Tom stops his staring and waves his hands.

"Oh well at least our princess here is kind enough to greet me nicely. And finally we're here… you guys might need my help once things get sticky- they do have my AI's 'rival' you know."

"That energy wave…" Rein then spoke, remembering that split second feeling before the containment broke. "It felt so… unusual, as if…"

"Divine Energy right?" the girl in black asked. "If I'm correct, a goddess was nearby."

"Divinities? That's impossible, divinities were created by the…" Rein answered back.

"In Midchilda, divinities, primarily goddesses, do exist but don't show themselves; often only one does show, and often interferes- the Divine Intervener, the Goddess of all michildian mages, and the Goddess of the Martial Arts… Dike." Illie replied.

Uminari City, Same time.

Atop of one of the many tall buildings in the city, the woman with green hair and cloak was sitting on the edge of a helipad, eyes looking over the city. Her hood was now off her head, revealing a single spired crown. She then took off the remainder of her cloak and hood and revealed an exquisite semi-mechanical armor in green, with armor plating on certain points.

"Now, this city shall slowly be the point of awakening…" she began to say to herself. "But what to do with 'the son'?"

"Why don't you tell his mother then?" another voice came in from behind, this time sounding much colder than the one talking previously. "It's time for her to assume responsibility as his mother… Dike."

The green-clad woman then faced behind and saw another woman, this time in long white hair, three-spired crown on her head and wearing blue armor clothing. On her feet was a formation similar to the being now identified as Dike, but with the Greek small letter delta replacing the omega in Dike.

"Irinae…" Dike greeted. "That's supposed to be your task… as the Overwatcher…"

"I may be… and since my duty is only to watch over humanity…" Irinae replied rather irritatingly.

"True, but you also have a duty to tell 'her' the happenings that occur- now that her son has awakened and has used her sword once again- we were there when that day occurred. All the blood, destruction and loss of life… I could have intervened but things were pulled on too fast. His surrogate had to put a seal on him to stop him from being uncontrolled, but now…"

"She was more of a parent than 'her'. And that is one reason I'm not telling…"

"But…"

Map Room of the Silvana, 3:00 PM.

"What? We can no longer raise a holding field?!!" Kyla was alarmed at the sudden info bomb.

"We did countless barrier raises and none held for more than a minute. To put it into context, massive levels of latent energy have now saturated the city, making it into an N-0 designation." Chrono read out the results.

"A 'no barrier zone'… this is what happened when we were chasing the lancer before… our first time meeting him in combat."

"Chased him, before?"

It was 29 years ago, on this very planet…

* * *

Twenty-nine years ago, waters off an unknown Terran City.

Four lights were moving very fast above the waters and upon closer look, three lights; one blue, one green and one pink, were chasing a yellow one. Then, the blue light stopped its movement and upon closer view, someone familiar was that light. It was Lindy, 14 years of age, wearing what seemed to be a schoolgirl type assortment, with green fairy wings on her back, standing on her seal.

"Okay guys, I'm going to set the boost now…" she spoke mentally.

"Okay!" two more voices came in the mental line.

At the same time, the green and pink lights stopped side by side. A closer look reveals that the green light was none other than Kyla- also 14, wearing a skintight barrier jacket and with spell rings surrounding her arms, legs and waist. The pink light was also a girl, and looked like Nanoha of 13 years- features, clothing and device, the only difference is that she had only one hair ribbon, tying her hair into a single long ponytail instead of the two Nanoha has- she was infact, the famed Peach.

"I'll keep him occupied while you snipe him, okay?" Kyla spoke and Peach nodded, prompting Kyla to move towards the approaching yellow light.

"What? A no-barrier zone?!!" Lindy almost screamed into the mental line. "Raven, are you sure?"

Up above, there was a ship that resembled the Asura in function but not in class- it was a different class.

"I'm sure of it…" the ship's second in command replied- a male with black hair tied into a short ponytail by a white band ribbon. "The doctor here said so…"

"I'm sure of it- I've run the tests over and over and the situation seems so…" the "doctor", who was coincidentally none other than the young Precia Testarossa- of 25 years or so, replied. "Now don't question me!"

"Yes, doc… okay… sheesh." Lindy sort of mumbled and began to concentrate. "Mana boost!"

Lindy's fairy wings began to glow and release sparkles of white light, some of which found their way towards Kyla.

"Right timing!" Kyla spoke cheerfully. "Thanks Lindy, I've been waitng for that setup!"

Kyla began to gather blue colored energy on her left hand, while her right hand began charging as well, but with red energy gathering instead.

"Magical energy on the left… Spirit energy on the right… and now… time to put them together and you get…"

The two orbs of energy were then fused together; enveloping the mage in violet aura, as well as making the spin on the enveloped ribbons go faster.

"Oh dear… the Magi-Spirit fusion…" Peach can only say as she carefully aimed the now shooting moded Raging Heart. "And thanks Lin…"

"Yeah! Let's DIVEEE!!!" the now fully energized Kyla could only say as she now rushed, full speed towards the lancer.

Kyla surges full force towards the unnamed lancer, erupting into a fierce magical hand-to-hand fight, all the while with Peach still aiming.

"_Firing lock set… buster clear."_ Raging Heart responded, affirming the calculations it performed.

"Okay then. Divine Buster… Shoot!!!"

The powerful pink beam surged quickly and right on track, a few meters above the fighting Kyla and lancer. Then Kyla nails her foe, sending him upward, into the path of the beam.

"Just to make sure… Take this!!!" Kyla yelled, as the comrade's beam neared. "Break Impact…"

Moments later, the frame is now focused from far away, on the eyes of the people witnessing the spectacle off their coast.

---

"That was such a hard time- confirming that each person who witnessed that had not seen us in the face." Kyla commented, now looking once again at the information presented by Chrono. "I guess this is the time to activate that protocol."

"Protocol? What kind?"

"Faceless Protocol… Hide everything in a mask… even your face and identity. Ever since that incident I've been formulating a solution to prevent non-aligned or neutral people to identify agents undercover… if the general public of Earth ever discovered that some of their own had magic, they might outcast them and possibly worse, try them with prejudice."

"I can understand what you mean by that… but how?"

"Seira has the answers… because when I asked her, she provided me with a solution- that is both aesthetically pleasing and effective at the same time."

"I think I know why you appointed her as chief engineer."

"Shut up."

Main engineering bay, five minutes later.

"Ta-da!" the short blonde engineer cheered as she presented Chrono with a pair of goggles. "I present to you the 'Barrier Mask'… though it looks crude, it's effective."

"And how does it work?"

"Simple really. Prevents the eyes from being seen. And also preventing linking memories from forming by means of a special spell that I've developed personally during my student years- don't ask how I used it."

"That only?" Chrono was shocked at the simplicity of the solution. "Will that work?"

"Yes… if you know the 'face study' paper in Advanced Arcana 3, then you'll know."

"I understood the paper, and I took it to heart- 'the eyes are not just the proverbial "portals into the soul", but also a maker for face recognition- one of the key points a person or FRP (face recognition program) will take in to identify one person'. Also in that paper are some theories and proven ideas about how the eyes link memories."

"I see you're an ace in school… as well as in the bureau. Good to hear that."

Chrono could only chuckle a bit and scratch his head like a kid.

Four hours later, the Silvana had reached HQ and promptly docked, allowing all those injured to be wheeled off to the bureau hospital, Fate included though in a wheelchair. Back in the cruising bridge, Kyla was looking out the window, looking at the maintenance crews doing their work, floating at various sections of the ship.

"I feel so weak at home…" she could only think as she went to her post and flipped the window blind switch, closing shutters on the windows.

At the cafeteria, Kyla chances upon the ship's ice cream man, who was about to close his area for off-shore.

"Hey Captain…" he greeted the superior, with much less of a salute. "Good timing."

"The usual…" Kyla could only say and was presented with a milkshake. "Thanks."

Kyla was the only one left in the cafeteria after the ice cream man left. Somehow, milkshake brought nostalgia to the admiral, because in her sight, she began to see her comrades during her youth- Peach on the left, and Lindy on the right- though in adult form and amazingly, "Peach" looking more like Momoko.

"Milkshakes, anyone?"

Macross Base Hospital, nine hours later, 8:00 AM.

Fate was again walking around the grounds of the hospital, upon orders of the doctor who examined the team, Hayate had now woken up but couldn't move out of bed or sit for that matter, while the three knights have managed to be awake and sit on their beds and both Nanoha and Yuuno were still down. With a walking stick, she was able to navigate most of the spaces that were accessible to patients. On the other end, our shipwreck surivior was still asleep, but he was being wheeled from one department to another. But as with people being wheeled, he began to stir into being awake. And just as he fully opens his eyes, Fate enters into his clearing view.

"Huh?" he could only think as Fate accidentally bumped into his strecher and further bumped into it as they entered the elevator. Fate was simply looking forward, whle the boy was stealing glances at her.

"Hmm… something's familiar… too familiar." He could only think.

Then the elevator doors open, allowing Fate to exit, and our patient to link his memories.

"Alicia?" he could say as the doors closed shut.

Fate simply looked back and saw the closed doors of the elevator.

"I thought I heard someone…"

"I could not be mistaken… that's Alicia I saw. Is this a trick of darkness or of the light? I can't understand… what's going on?"

At the lobby, Lindy had managed to come and find Kyla, sitting on one of the seats, tailing her was Amy.

"How are they?" Lindy asked, worried about her daugther.

"Fate's the only one able and allowed to walk." Kyla began. "Hayate's in serious mental shock- considering that this is probably her first time dealing with a really deadly situation since she was nine. The knights are recovering and both Nanoha and my son are still down…"

"This is the worst damage they've taken, the last time anyone was even near this state was when the Tome of the Night Sky was still the Book of Darkness- Nanoha to be exact."

"I've read the file- it seemed likely that the very event- Nanoha's linker core being drained; was the very moment her natural dei-type energy began to flow, hastening her recovery. The only mystery is, why did the seal remained mid-type until now?"

"It was strange… most mages of her rank back then took about a month to even form a simple ball of light- but she did it in about 3 days. And probably because her mid-type capabilities were already established and was able to 'convert' that energy- just like Peach did when she fired off multiple Divine Busters with magnoboosting…"

"Hmm… the similarities between Nanoha and our comrade Peach… I wonder…"

Somewhere unknown, Same time.

Momoko and Shiro were walking in some hallway when suddenly, Momoko sneezes.

"Are you okay dear?" Shiro asked.

"I'm okay… but it seems that I'm being talked about right now."

"By them?"

Momoko nodded.

"I too can't believe what happened. But we already expected it to happen…"

"What shall we do then?"

"Simple, help them." Shiro could only reply, door opening infront of them and two of them disappearing into the darkness inside. "As much as we can."

Thirty minutes later…

Fate was now back in her room, with Hayate still staring at the ceiling.

"Hayate, are you okay?" Fate began to ask.

"Scared… I'm scared…" Hayate began to speak, grabbing the sheets at both sides. "I didn't know how to act… Signum, Shamal, Vita… they were all hurt… and I didn't even had the spirit to avenge them a bit…"

"Don't blame yourself…" Fate could only say, drawing on some words, and some added ones, that Nanoha had said years ago. "It's not your fault… and you're still alive- so you'll be able to make it up to them…"

Hayate loosened the grip on the sheets and sat up- a good sign.

"Now I feel a bit better. But, where's Nanoha and Yuuno? Nanoha took some serious beating and for Yuuno…"

Hayate could remember the expression on Yuuno's face- she was shocked to see that kind of face, let aloe the seething emotion that was being released at that moment, pure unbridled anger, unstained by malice or anything evil.

"I've never seen him angry before…" Hayate finished her sentence. "But… 'Silent waters run deep…'"

At that moment, Yuuno now begins to wake up. He fully regains his consciousness and looks at the still sleeping Nanoha.

"Nanoha, I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect you this time- even though I vowed to myself… I wish I can make it up to…"

Somehow, the bed arrangement in their ward was a bit strange- with their beds beside each other. With what little strength he had, he managed to move a hand near hers and hold it gently. As soon as he held it, the girl's hand held his tighter. Yuuno remembers her mother's words at the time when he was summoned to the Silvana's first garden.

"But with capability comes equal vulnerability." Kyla's words came in. "Not all strong girls can hold their strength for so long… like her. If the time comes, you would be her pillar of strength, her emotional support, the one that who nurse her in times of injury, the one who will eventually have to carry her heart as well."

"Nanoha… I swear by my life that I will take care of you…"

Uminari City, same time.

Three figures were now on the top of the same building Dike and Irinae were on before, each of them wearing a coat, identities obscured by the sunlight beaming behind them.

"Whenever a holder of a tome becomes undecided or afraid, we appear… how inconvenient…" the left person, the tallest of the trio, remarked in an irritated mood. "Just we were supposed to rest and maybe take out something or two, the night sky called…"

"Night sky?" the one on the right, a female, spoke. "That might be but it feels kind of different- as if it has reverted back but not- I can still feel the vibes when it was still rogue."

"Don't worry my brother and sister in arms; we'll set whoever has the night sky right once again…" the middle person, again a male spoke, with a somewhat playful voice. "Or, we can find something good to play with- I'm sure that we'll be able to find whoever has the standard now as well- the cross that symbolizes us and our order."

Then the camera switches to a top view of them three, and at their feet, full Velka-type Sigil, a black full Velka-Type Sigil.


	7. Seeing a Cross

# 7: The Breaking of the First Sacred Seals: Seeing a Cross

Base Hospital, Noon.

In Nanoha's room- which coincidentally was the same room she was confined in when her linker core was drained, the doctor signs the allowance papers to a now sitting on their beds Nanoha and Yuuno- the girl waking up a few hours ago.

"Okay here you go- but only limited to this hospital and the civilan areas of the base okay? You still need another round of certification to be able to enter the bureau areas and be able to retun to active duty." The doctor assigned to them spoke as he handed to Kyla the papers.

"Thank you doctor." She spoke as the doctor left. She then turned to the two and tossed them a couple of cards. "Okay… I already gave Fate and Hayate theirs- use it wisely or it will reflect on my next billing."

Only the sound of a cash register can be heard as the admiral exited- by this time you must know what cards she gave to them.

At another part of the hospital, Fate was taking her card out of a vending machine, as the vender dropped a can of strawberry milk.

Moments later, Nanoha, who was on a wheelchair, was being wheeled by Yuuno. They exit from the hospital and into the wide garden out back, there was a cool wind blowing (well artifical, so sue me) and it felt good.

"It's so refreshing…" Nanoha could only comment as they were near a bench.

"Wait here." Yuuno spoke. "I'll get something to drink, okay?"

As Yuuno headed for the nearest vending machine, Nanoha looks up to the artificial sky and begins to think hard.

"Why am I supposed to be a heiress? Come to think of it, the only relatives I have is my family- as far as I can remember, no one from either my parents' came to visit us."

In the office of the doctor that signed Nanoha's permission, the doctor was looking at a picture, with him and a couple with a child. Suprisingly, the couple looked similar to a young Momoko and Shiro, carrying what seemed to be a child with the same hair color as Momoko.

"I finally got to see her huh? She definitely takes after you two, brother and sister-in-law." The doctor spoke as he placed the picture face down.

TSAB Ground Headquarters, Central Sector, same time.

Kyla was now facing the entire ruling body of the bureau and in the middle of it, the only seat not illuminated, was the Bureau Supreme Director.

"So, Admiral." The director spoke. "Are you sure that you can manage without any additional support? We can offer much more support if you wanted."

"I'll be okay with it, as much as Director Hallaoun here wanted, I'm afraid that we can't accept any more help right now- for we can manage."

"You are always modest Admiral Scrya- even at the brink you wouldn't ask for help… well then, I'll just add this offer to your credit so when that day comes, you'll be able to enjoy extra benefit… council dismissed!"

Lindy joined Kyla upon her exit of the council chamber.

"You've always turned down any help from the council- even from your own group." Lindy commented. "The supreme director himself asked you about, five times already?"

"He's married and has two kids…" Kyla replied with sarcasm. "And under law, his wife can take in another husband with his consent…"

"We know that. The point is, you should not be all aloof and such- you've changed much in my opinion. We both have loved ones who died, and yet…"

"People take it in different strides…"

"Well let's not talk about that okay?" Lindy then changed the subject. "But then, you can be glad now, because the director himself had asked me to assist you."

"That's good. Only she remains and the 'Aces of Hearts' will be reborn."

"And 'heartbreakers'…" Lindy closed the line.

The two then laughed mildly as they continued on. Then, Lindy remembers something.

"Hmm… Complete as the council is, we still lacked another one… a newbie director."

"Newbie? How come I wasn't informed?"

"Well aside from the fact that you were on mission 24/7, this newbie was a rarity in meetings. Well she's Tier 1 anyway, so her presence is not really important in general meetings. But what sets her apart is the fact that she's Velka-type."

"Velka? But didn't the Bureau Canon stated that…"

"D.O. 264…" Lindy replied. "The director made that order on her first day- the only day we got to see her. By all respects, she's a mild mannered girl. But what made me wonder is what he said after she left- about Velka being a vanishing art."

"Velka vanishing huh?" Kyla then stopped and looked around. "I guess that I've been away for too long."

"Well that settles it. Maybe we can visit the hospital after my shift and probably the two of us can hang out like the old days…"

"Oh no… you're not going to any bar or nightclub Hallaoun. I still remember what you did to the Doctor…"

"No fair…"

At the hospital…

"Here you go." Yuuno gave Nanoha a can of cold strawberry milk. "I'm sorry if they've run out of other drinks."

"It's okay… it's okay." The girl replied, with a sad look.

"Are you okay?"

"Uh… I'm… Fine…"

"Nanoha?"

Tears were dripping on the sides of her cheeks. He tried to place himself infront of her but she stopped him.

"Don't… please." She began to plead. "You said you were going to take care of me…"

"I know…" the boy said, adjusting himself so that his friend could lay her head on his shoulder. "So don't hold back."

Nanoha began to cry, and cried. While that was happening, by some feat of coincidence, Fate and Hayate were now at that same backyard garden, and managed to spot the two of them.

"Huh? Isn't that Nanoha and Yuuno?" Hayate asked, pointing to the two.

Fate simply did not answer but a quick view on one of her hands shows a sudden twitch, as if she involuntarily wanted to close her hand in a fist.

"That's them alright." The blond manages to answer. She then thought "What was that?"

The two of them silently made their way near them, finally sitting on the bench- with the other two still in that position.

"How sweet you Yuuno…" Hayate then began to comment.

At first, neither one minded the intruders. But seconds pass and then, the two began to note who was watching. But then, from Yuuno's chest, Nanoha manages a peek.

"Fate, Hayate…" she speaks, now removing her face from his now soaked shirt. "I'm okay now. Are you two alright?"

"We're fine, right Fate?" Hayate replied.

Fate could only respond with a nod. At that point, Yuuno stands up.

"I'll leave you girls for a while." He then said.

"Okay, come back for me later."

As soon as the boy vanished from their sights, Hayate nudges Nanoha.

"You were getting personal back there…" Hayate spoke. "You know Fate, if you are watching drama on TV back on Earth, you would know that what happened is a romantic scene, right?"

"Yes… mom and Amy always watch those programs." Fate began to reply, but with a faint hint of indifference, as if she did not have any feeling.

"Cut it out you guys! He just comforted me, that's all… offered me something to lean on…"

Hayate could only giggle a bit, while Fate remained unusually flat in her emotion. Meanwhile back at the Silvana, Seira was busy working on the new designs of the damaged barrier jackets. Amazingly she was not using any piece of high technology, just some leaves of paper and a set of coloring pencils. In her trashcan were the remains of several mistakes, crumpled and disposed of.

"I still can't determine what to go with the shortened skirt. And also, making a new jacket out from scratch is one thing, making a whole new jacket from an already established device is another. I know!" Seira thought and then smacked a fist on her palm. "I'll ask my friend if she can help me- she's more knowledgeable in clothing than I do."

She then picked the nearby phone up and dialed a number.

Unknown location.

A phone rings at a secretary's desk, silencing all those inside of the room with the same desk. As the secretary rushes towards it, a slight observation reveals that the other people in the room seem to be couturiers, tape measure ribbon hanging by their necks, some hands with designer chalk and some drawing dresses on paper and digital tablets on computer.

"Venos Fashion Agency…" the secretary answered. "Miss T-D's office."

"Uhm… is Tomo there?" Seira's voice came in.

"Yes, she's here but… she's busy like all the designers in the agency."

"But I need to talk to her!" Seira continued, while among the designers, someone moved towards the secretary's desk. "This is an important matter!"

The one who went to the secretary's desk, a female with back-length hair and purple eyes, then faced the secretary and took the phone- but in the process of handing it over, the secretary unknowingly pushed the speaker button, allowing all in the room to hear the next lines.

"Tomoy…"

"Tomo-chan!!!" Seira's voice came into the room loud and clear. "I need fashion help please!!!"

Tomo was stunned as she looked around her, people were stifling. She suddenly became red and yelled into the phone.

"I told you not to add '-chan' when in public!!! Go to the usual place now!!!" she yelled loudly and slammed the phone, also looking at the people around her, now silent and fearful of her when they began to giggle.

Base Terminal, an hour later, 1:30PM.

"Tomo-chaaan!" Seira could only say as she was stopped by Tomo.

"Okay, what now?" Tomo could only ask, sighing.

"I need serious help…" the engineer could only say as she showed to her the paper bearing the still intact parts of Nanoha's barrier jacket. "Serious, professional help."

Teminal café.

"Bureau work huh? This is the first time I've heard of asking for help from a designer. Aren't those jackets supposed to be fashioned by those who wear them, why not ask the mage?"

"Well that mage is currently under KO, and that the data that we can use to recover it is corrupted- well in this case, this part I have managed to salvage."

"Okay then, since I can't refuse to a friend like you- and consider this partial payment for the car and house. Give me your tablet please."

Seira hands the tablet to her designer friend. With the stylus, she began to draw the contents of the paper on the digital surface, with a display pane also up in order for Seira to see without moving from her seat.

"Hmm… maybe I can use this piece as a standpoint for the newest trend I'm thinking of." Tomo replied as she looked carefully.

"Newest trend?"

"I call it…" Tomo replied as she began to sketch a front-open skirt, jacketing the outside of her shortened original skirt. "The open front!"

Back at the hospital, our surivior was now being interviewed by the same doctor that gave Nanoha permission.

"Okay then… Mister…"

"Alex will do fine…"

"Okay then Alex, how are you feeling now?" the doc resumed his questioning.

"I'm okay- well except for one detail."

"Detail?"

"Well, do you know any female patients with golden hair, ruby-brown eyes and has a somewhat faint disposition?"

"Well…" the doctor then began to think. "Under my care, I have about four patients with that description. Okay, choose one of the four letters I'll give you- G, A, T, C… now choose."

"T please…" Alex replied instantly.

"Well, well, well… you sure know how to pick girls of your age." The doc then somewhat slyly replied, taking out a data tablet- Fate's. "Here she is, Testarossa."

"Testarossa?" Alex inwardly thought.

"Well she's assigned in the same ship that you were in- brought in that is. Suffered multiple impact hits, not too serious…"

"Where is she?" the patient suddenly asked.

"Well, I signed her…"

With that, he dashed out of the room.

"Oh dear. Got to call the orderlies."

Alex managed to make his way outside, to the same garden the four are now in. The cool breeze began to blow again, calming his somehow rushed body.

"Come on, we have to get back to our rooms first." A faint female voice came in- Fate's.

"That voice…"

Then, like a scene from a surreal movie, Nanoha, Fate, Hayate and Yuuno pass by him- who was looking stunned. He simply stood there, as he began to hear something once again.

"Fraternal… mentor… eventual mirror… chosen one…" those words began to flow into his hearing. And then, he saw someone in a white robe, pointing at him saying. "Eventual half…"

"Are you okay there?" Yuuno's voice suddenly came in.

Alex looked behind him and saw the group looking at him- minus one of course- Fate had managed to continue on.

"You're from the shipwreck, am I correct?" Hayate then asked, remembering.

"Yes…" the boy managed to nod.

"I'm glad to see that you're fine- we'll just have to notify the admiral."

"Thank you…" Alex could only say. "I really need to have closure on some things."

Back at the base station café, things were now being settled.

"Wow… that simple and yet so… daring!!!" Seira could ony say, but then noticed one detail. "But why keep the frills at the bottom?"

"Well you know that skirt hemlines are my weak point- the inner skirt is simply straight and looks good- well due to the fact that that's the best we can recover. The outer skirt is based from the previous photo of the jacket that was featured in a past issue of Fashion Today."

"Wait you have a photo of the original jacket?"

"Yes, the magazine managed to take a shot and a short interview in the article titled 'Customed for cuteness'. Nanoha Takamachi, quite renowned to bureau and some circles of society- I've even heard rumors that she's the long lost granddaughter of the prime minister and many others." Tomo replied.

"I doubt it."

"Well anyways, with that jacket done, we have to concentrate on the next one. Can I have photos of it?"

"It's in the tablet."

Tomo began to look cafefully at Fate's past jacket, noting details and such.

"No, no, no… the line must not be that high- it's almost not wholesome…" she began to comment. "This will not do… we have to build one from scratch!"

"Oh no… she's gone mad again…" Seira could only sigh.

Back at the hospital, the doctor was now meeting with Kyla and Lindy over videophone.

"So you mean that my entry for Miss Fate is wrong?" the doctor asked.

"No, just add my family name to it and you're set." Lindy replied.

"Okay then… Testarossa-Hallaoun it is. Thank you for the addional info Admiral."

"Well doctor, status on our other patient?" Kyla then asks. "We need his status so that we can determine if he's able to stand witness to an investigation."

"I see… he only needs a few more days rest and you can take him away- as for the rest of your injured, the Velka users can go at the same time as him, while the other kids might need a day or two, especially Takamachi. For all due respect, I recommend that you send them home for the weekend- let them have dates and such…"

"Date huh?" Kyla then spoke. "Okay, I'll look into it."

"I don't like the sound of that Kyla…" Lindy commented.

"Well I have a feeling that it would happen anyway."

"A date? Between who? Nanoha and Yuuno? I don't like the sound of arranged marriage you know."

"Well it's not arranged- if they wanted to go on a date, I'll let my son… I don't know for Nanoha's parents. Well if you agree, maybe with Fate perhaps?"

"I'll let her decide…"

"Oh well, us parents can't hold them back when they wanted to… besides, they are past 11 already." Kyla replied.

"So then, shall we meet 'her' then… her stint must be wrapping up by now."

Meanwhile, Alex was now back in his room, deep in thought, bothered by what he saw.

"That was Alicia… I'm sure of it… but… Oh dear parents of mine, guide me still."

As soon as he closed his eyes, another recollection again enters his mind.

It was a scene full of devastation, buildings collapsing and burning at the same time, utter chaos, wailing, sadness and disorder were everywhere.

"I have to go check on Alicia!" his voice, though sounding really young, was trying its best to rise above the general chaos.

"You must not!" a much more mature voice then came in- making him look up- it was a woman. "You have to evacuate all of your fellow younglings to a safe place. You have the responsibility now…"

"But…"

But before he can speak further, an explosion resounds in the distance, the bright light that it issued, enveloping all.

Then, another scene unfolds before him. It was in a dessert, he was now looking at a black cloaked aged man, looking at a ruin.

"Listen…" the man began to speak. "There are things in this world that you cannot do; and those that you can do… but sometimes, you can do the impossible."

But before he can speak, a sandstorm blows, covering them in its sandy fury, blacking out his vision. By the time he opens his eyes once again, he sees someone familiar in the distance, in a dimly lit room.

"Mother?"

The figure in the distance then quickly approached him, spear held up high and ready to strike. But before the figure managed to close the gap, the same cloaked man that was with him during the storm was now blocking the spear with his sword.

"Meister!" Alex almost yelled.

"Find a way to turn shut down this place!" the cloaked man then grunted as he pushed the seemingly possessed woman out of the way.

By another blink of his eye, another scene he was in once again, but this time it was still in the same area as the previous one. He was now somewhat kneeling, the masses of unknown drones that were bearing on him becoming a problem, not just sapping his strength, but also by some manner, his spiritual energy. He then sees the cloaked man gunning for his mother, at full speed and ready to deal the deadly blow.

"Meister, no!!!"

And he once again opens his eyes.

"Not again…"

TSAB Space Base, Civilian Area 5, 3 PM.

Kyla and Lindy step off the transport station. They then walk a few hundred meters towards a residential area and turn left, ending up at the gates of a small school- a kindergarten to be exact. Then then approach the window of the classroom and look inside- there were children already standing up and as they look towards the teacher table, a young woman with long, straight, hip-length green hair and similarly colored eyes, and wearing what seemed to be a one piece shirt and pants ensemble was now delivering the closing of class.

"Okay kids; remember to study real hard for your Monday test okay?" the teacher spoke in a low, kind voice.

"Yes teacher." the children replied.

As the classroom door opened…

"Now go home and be safe okay?"

Children started pouring out of the open door, happy to go home, play outside and do similar things children do. Once the room was empty, the teacher stepped out and saw the two admirals, returning a smile.

"Admirals…"

"Long time no see…" Lindy then replied. "Cecil Claire…"

"C… C…" the teacher then corrected. "I have a lot of names so that will suffice…"

"Of course…" Kyla then spoke up. "CC…"

Transport Train heading towards Central Area 1, 3PM.

Kyla, Lindy and the one named CC are in a "superior's carriage" at the front of the train, in which currently, only they were the ones riding.

"Why the sudden visit, Admirals?" CC began to question in a much colder tone. "Do you want a comparison report on Miss Takamachi's injuries, am I correct?"

"Comparison?" Kyla wondered. "Has she been injured before?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Lindy replied, with a bit of dread.

"It was right after capturing the Silvana…" CC instantly added, bringing up Nanoha's data file on that infamous day on a holoscreen with a flick of her wrist. "She and the Wolkenritter member named Vita were the last to leave the capture area, heading back to Earth. While on transit, an unknown attacked them and managed to deal crippling damage to Miss Takamachi- how is that possible is still under CLANNAD's reconstruction spaces- based from Vita's testimony to the memory recordings obtained from the two. I did not expect the reconstruction to take this long…"

"It took a year before Nanoha was able to walk- and when I told her parents about it- they were a bit angry, but overall, they reacted as if they were expecting it." Lindy then replied. "The damages were so extensive that the doctors said that she'll never recover."

"I see…" Kyla could only reply. "Well then… there is only one thing I can do- let them rest long and hard. And remind me to inject her with A-types later on…"

"Plan noted…" CC replied and opened a new screen, punching in something before closing. "Adjusting temperature in this car…"

In an instant, the car's surroundings became a bit more comfortable.

"Thanks…"

"Traffic accident in area 13, fire suppression active- delayed by 5 miliseconds. Retune will occur after fire out…" CC began to mutter. "Starting Silent Mode reset…"

"You know… you should only do that in the control room…" Kyla commented. "People will be scared."

"Noting…"

"I often wonder how I managed to cope with you CC…" Both Kyla and Lindy both sighed.

Rose Garden, Same time.

"What now?" Aranth asked as he sat down on a bench, facing a rather large house. "I was resting and yet you call me here…"

"Well, Illa here told me to get you." Rein replied, pointing to the only girl in the group. "You know how she is, always gathering all of us for some reason or another."

"You know I have to go and wander someplace, why don't you guys give me some rest?"

The Illie appears, bearing a tray of snacks and treats. She then gives a plate to each of the two guys and laid out five more plates on the table."

"Looks like he's coming too…" Aranth then grumbled. "And his 'girlfriends'…'"

"Let the man be, comrade- though I might say he's the strange one."

"Come on boys, you know that she wanted him here- or rather, he found her- then found us… we can say that we owe our lives to him…"

"I still owe my life to the 'Master'…" Aranth could only grunt. "And nobody else…"

"The 'Uncurable Scar' huh? Illie, or Illa to Rein, then spoke, looking at the gash on his face. "You know, there is only one thing that cures that kind of scar… love."

"Who would believe in such a thing?" The lancer retorted.

"I do…" Illie then replied.

As if on cue, the silver haired guy appeared, behind him were two fine maidens, wearing the same kind of uniform he wore, and somehow on was trying to make the other listen.

"You know Lin…" one of the two girls, one with firey long red hair, firey eyes, seemingly 'burnt just right' complexion, and features that make men drool, began to speak once again.

The other girl, with long, straight purple hair, blank blue eyes and wearing the same uniform as her redhead companion simply read on her book.

"Come on Lin… say something…"

"Shut up… Kirche…" Lin then replied.

"Well, girls will be girls…" The silver haired guy, Tom, could only shrug. "So, what's the ruckus?"

"Illa?" Rein asked.

"Well, she wanted to show us something…" Illie replied. "I myself wonder what she'll show."

The, the door of the house opens, making all those in the garden stand up. And then the camera pans down to the steps, showing a pair of shoes walking downward. Then, the camera slowly pans upward and zooms away, finally revealing the clothing- it was the girl in black- though her full face is still not seen, only her mouth now being shown in the frame. And the strange thing is, the girl in black's clothing was eerily too similar to the design that Tomo made for Nanoha's new jacket- in fact, it was a black mirror image of that jacket- in black and blue. Then the girl spins once, showing to her guests her new clothing, and a smile on her face.

"Well… how do I look?" the girl, in her similarly sounding voice, asked.

"Wow… how cute…" Illie replied.

"Stunning." Tom replied.

Rein nods.

"No comment, as long as it does its job… though I say the skirt is a bit too… high." Aranth commented, much to the irony of what he had just said.

"Really?" the girl then asked, holding the hem of her short inner skirt. "But I find this nice, and a bit daring, though I'm feeling cold between my legs sometimes."

Aranth could only cover his mouth and nose as he could feel blood dripping out of his nose, earning a stifled snicker from Tom. Then the girl proceeded to the table and sat on one of the chairs, plate with a slice of cake already near her and a cup of tea waiting. The rest of them followed her and sat, ready to partake in snacks.

Bannings Residence, Uminari City, Same time.

Suzuka had been invited over for tea and was waiting along with Arisa for the new maid to come in. the said maid had only been recruited a few weeks ago and her current status is that of…

CRASH…

"What was that?" Suzuka asked.

"That would be her… Aki." Arisa replied, sighing. "My parents hired her before they went off again. She's a bit too clumsy."

"I'm sorry!" a faint voice could be heard from the direction of the kitchen.

"Don't worry… she lightens up the place- even though Jiya asked me many times to take her off…" Arisa then replied.

"So you're letting her stay because of the fun? That's not good…" Suzuka replied.

"Well actually, I think she's something… but I don't know yet…"

Meanwhile in the empty kitchen, a slightly older girl with short straw-brown hair, jewel blue eyes and wearing a maid's clothing was busy holding a tray full of cake slices and tea implements, not to mention hot water. Just as she was about to reach the door, she once again had her clumsy spell and began to fall towards the floor.

"Oh no… not this time!" she then thought and in a blink of an eye, a flash appeared, and the fall stopped.

Then the full scene was unveiled. There was the maid named Aki, and what appears to be spell ribbons holding her up from the ceiling and preventing her from falling on the floor. The maid breathed a sigh of relief as the ribbons pulled her up and righted her stand. Once she again stood up on her feet, the ribbons disappeared.

"Phew… have to work hard to go back home…" Aki thought. "If only Bureau people were here on this planet…"

She then opens the door, revealing Suzuka and Arisa, waiting for the tea and cake.

"I'm sorry to make you wait…" Aki bowed and apologized.

"That's fine… and thank you." Arisa replied and suddenly asked, with a different tone. "Uhm Aki, can you fetch me my workpad and pencil please?"

"Yes, gladly…"

While the maid went to fetch said items, Suzuka asked something.

"Something bothering you?"

"As a matter of fact, that's the very reason why I called you here." Arisa replied, taking the now presented drawing materials. "Thanks…"

The maid then moves to the side, as Arisa opens the workpad. Inside was a nicely drawn image of Arisa, the girl wearing something akin to a coat and on her hand, a sword. Also noted was a pair of "firey" wings on her back.

"This is what's bothering me…" Arisa then spoke. "Sometimes this is me, in a dream."

Suzuka examines the sketch carefully.

"Well I feel that someone or something is calling me… but as to who or what it is, I don't know."

Suzuka takes the pencil and begans to sketch as well, on the opposite page. Arisa is perplexed by the quick yet careful sketching and it was becoming apparent.

"You're having the same kind of dream too?" Arisa could only ask as she looked at Suzuka's drawing- on her hand was a shield, same coat as her friend's but no wings.

"Well it only started a few days ago, the day when the only thing I really remembered is when I accidentally bumped into a guy… a guy with a scar on his face…"

Rose Garden, Same time.

Aranth suddenly sneezes, making the attendees look at him.

"Bless you…" Tom replied.

"You okay?" Rein asked.

"How sweet, someone remembers him…" Illie replied.

Aranth began to choke, and managed to swallow it.

"I did not make any contact when I was roaming around the planet you know!" He quickly retorted before gulping down a cup of tea- not even noticing the temperature of it.

"But still, someone had managed to notice you and remember you as well…"

"Notice? Remember?" Aranth then asked himself, managing to speak after that hot gulp.

He then remembers the scene where he bumps into somebody, a girl with long violet hair and wearing a conservative dress, stopping her from falling.

"Must be that girl…" he whispered under his breath.

Illie heard that.

"A girl you say? How nice…"

Macross Base Hospital, 4 PM.

"Okay… you guys are good to go." The doctor signed off the papers of the girls and Yuuno. "But… I only released you people on the condition that you will take your terran vacation- on Earth as much as possible. And I'll have your superiors see to it."

"Yes doctor…" The three girls replied, with glee.

"I really wonder if you three are even human- only a few days and you are back and up running."

The girls simply giggled, but then the doctor dropped another shell.

"And yes, just to inform you, you will have another person being sent aboard your ship as well…"

"Another person?" Hayate wondered. "Must be the one we've picked up from the shipwreck- and to note, he does look like the same age as us."

"Yes…" Fate, this time spoke. "But he seems too… I don't know… but…"

Then, the door opens, revealing Kyla and Lindy.

"Well, are you guys ready? We'll leave for Earth the next day…" Lindy spoke.

"And they ordered me to hand over the Silvana to my group's technical department for repair and retrofit…" Kyla sighed. "So that means I have to also take a break… oh well."

She looks at both Nanoha and her son Yuuno, and could only smile.

"I guess it was right for them to take that break."

Takamachi Residence, a day later… 9AM.

"Is this your house?" Kyla asked a wheelchaired Nanoha. "I sense something familiar… an aura of sorts…"

Kyla then proceeded to push the doorbell.

"Coming…" a faint voice came in from the inside of the compound.

Takamachi Residence, five minutes ago.

Momoko was the only person in the house, with Shiro, Kyouya and Miyuki already at the Café. She was just done cleaning up and was in the kitchen, boiling some water. As she sat to wait for the boil, she waved a finger at the air beside of her and amazingly, screens appear, showing parts of the outside of the compound.

"Nothing unusual so far…" She thought as she opened another, much smaller screen.

Then, pictures began to appear. Starting when Nanoha was born; and the timeframe of each picture seem to come further and further back in time, until it stopped at a group picture. On it was a young Momoko, wearing a really familiar blue and white schoolgirl type uniform, hair tied in a single high tail on her head and on her hands was really familiar red-orbed, golden framed, pink and white staff. On her left was a girl with long green hair, in a similar uniform, with yellow wings on her back, and on her right was a blond girl wearing a skintight suit with bracelets and anklets.

"Only one remains huh?" She thinks as she focuses on the blond. "When will you arrive, K…"

Then one of the screens slips in and shows a feed from outside- on it was Kyla, in civil clothing, pushing a wheelchaired Nanoha, with her son Yuuno powering along in his. Momoko was agape, not even minding the whistle of the kettle.

"Why did I ask so soon?"

Then the doorbell rang.

"Coming!" Momoko replied, trying to hide her feeling.

She quickly rushed to the gate and stopped shot of opening it.

"Calm down… she no longer recognizes you… calm down…"

The gate slowly opens.

Kyla sees the person on the other side of the gate- and is not fazed.

"Uhm… yes?" Momoko then spoke. "And who are they?"

"Kyla Scrya… Bureau… I came here to bring your daughter home…"

Then from behind Kyla, Nanoha appears- though earning a minor shock, Momoko's face looked like she knew that Nanoha was injured.

"Sorry mother that I had to come home this way…" Nanoha apologized. "Again."

"Don't worry dear, come in… You two too, you must be tired…"

Kyla hesitated for a moment.

"Tea will be up soon…"

"Tea huh?" Kyla replied. "Well then, thank you for letting us in… come on Yuuno."

Yuuno had no choice but wheel himself in as well.

"Please, come in…"

Kyla and Momoko went in first, while Yuuno slowly stood up and went to Nanoha's chair.

"Let me help you stand up…" he offered a hand, which the girl gladly accepted.

"Thanks… you're such a gentleman."

The boy could not help but be embarrassed. They slowly walked towards the kitchen where Kyla and Momoko were already seated, Momoko pouring green tea into cups.

"Green tea… long time since I've seen such tea." Kyla began to comment.

But before Kyla could take a sip out of hers, Momoko suddenly did something to her own tea- added milk.

"Well it may seem strange, but pardon…" Momoko apologized.

"I've seen same things…" Kyla replied, sipping her tea.

A few minutes later, Nanoha and Yuuno appear and sit on the couch. At the table, Kyla stands up.

"We'll be taking our leave then…" Kyla bowed. "Come Yuuno… and no complaints."

Yuuno slowly stands up.

"I'll try to come by…" he says to a somewhat saddened Nanoha.

"Don't worry… We'll try to come often…" Kyla responded, bracing her son.

"Sure… please do come often." Momoko replied.

Outside the residence.

"Momoko Takamachi huh?" Kyla thought. "Interesting…"

Inside…

"I did not expect that…" Momoko somewhat giggled in her thought. "I wonder if Lindy and her really know me?"

Both Kyla and Lindy, who was at their condo unit, sneezed. Now speaking of the Hallaouns, Chrono was also placed on leave while the Silvana underwent retrofit. He was about to exit Fate's room.

"Just call when you need anything." Chrono then signed off, leaving the door ajar.

Fate nodded, simply leaning on the headboard of her bed. She then began to stare at the ceiling and close her eyes, thinking deeply.

"That person…" she began to think. "That person… he seems… familiar…"

Then Fate begins to slip into sleep, but moments later, something pricked her palms and she suddenly woke up slightly, scratching them before resting once more. The same scene also takes place at the Yagami house and at the Scrya residence, where Hayate and the one named Kha respectively were also sleeping.

Meanwhile at another part of the city, someone was again looking down on the streets, this time a single girl, with black long sleeved shirt with somewhat bloody red trim, same themed shorts and open front skirt, with hair almost of the same degree of red tied in a ribbon on the right side of her head, almost the same stellar blue eyes as a certain, ace but having a smile of apprehension.

"This… is… Earth… And to think that I'm here to chase after something… and I wonder, Mother did say that this star is where Auntie lives on still…"

She takes out a picture from one of her pockets, and on it was Momoko carrying a newborn girl on her arms, beside a much older woman, also carrying a newborn girl- girls because of the towels they were wrapped in- pink. Written on the picture were Midchildan characters and arrows pointing to Momoko and the newborn she was carrying.

"Auntie Momoko Takamachi… and Nanoha… hmmm…" she then thought as she pocketed the picture. "Might as well find them…"

Three days later…

Nanoha's cellphone rang, and she picked it up.

"Nanoha…"

"Yuuno-kun!" she replied, recognizing the voice. "How are you?"

"I'm fine… and you?"

"Well… same… and bored- well my mom has been telling me to stay in bed…"

"Tell me about it. The only thing missing is binding me to the bed."

"Well…" Nanoha somewhat chuckled. "Considering your mother, she might."

"Hahaha… very funny." Yuuno puffed.

"Well… have you called the others?"

"Well no, have you?"

"Well I was about to…"

"Nanoha, Fate and Hayate are here to see you…" Momoko's voice came into her room.

"Well that answers your question…"

"Well, talk to you later then…"

There was silence on the line.

"Yuuno-kun?"

"Ah! Sorry about that… okay, later then."

Nanoha ended the call as when the door opened, revealing Fate and Hayate. Both parties greeted and the two visitors sat on the side of the bed.

"Nanoha, how are you feeling?" Fate asked.

"I'm okay now."

"Are you sure?" Hayate asked.

"Yes, perfectly fine. It's you two I'm worried about."

"We're okay…"

Silence rules the room, only broken by the doorbell.

"Coming…" Momoko's voice came from downstairs. "Nanoha, Fate, Hayate… Arisa and Suzuka are here to see you!"

Moments later, the door opens, revealing Arisa and Suzuka, bearing a box of cake.

"So…" Arisa asked as she munched on her slice. "What gives?"

"Well… we can't tell you, but we've been given some rest time." Hayate replied.

The other two then nodded in agreement.

"Well then, any plans?"

"Well, we can't say yet but…"

"Well then, come with us then…" Suzuka then followed up.

"But we…"

"No ifs, no buts… you guys have not spent your summers on ordinary things since grade school… let's say you three have a huge debt to us… so it's time to pay up. I know… that beach that we've visited, sounds good to me."

"What beach Arisa?" Suzuka asked. "You mean when we tried to find them and we ended up at the island?"

"One and the same…"

"I agree!!!" Nanoha suddenly spoke loudly, jolting all of them.

"Eh?"

A day later, we find our group riding the hovercraft to Haruhi Island plus Chrono, who was also ordered to take a rest from the Admiral. Nanoha's face was that of great anticipation while the rest were just glad to have found some time.

"You look like you really wanted to go here…" Hayate commented.

"Okay… the others have said they were staying at one of the seaside hotels…" Arisa spoke, pocketing her cellphone. "Well where are you guys staying then?"

"Maybe we'll stay at the Admiral's house…" Fate replied. "If she's not busy with something…"

Later…

"The Admiral is not here… She and Scrya-kun went to buy stuff." Minerva spoke as ushered them into the house. "But make yourselves at home- but do mind that we have a guest as well."

"A guest?"

"You know the one from the hospital… he's sleeping right now."

"Oh… him." Hayate replied. "Okay."

"And… someone is also arriving here… so please pay respect to him…"

At the train station back in the city proper, someone steps out of a just arrived train. It was a guy, short, somewhat ruffled brown hair, blue eyes, wearing a normal white long sleeved shirt and matching long pants.

"This must be the city…" he spoke to himself, in perfect Terran English. "Oh… must brush up in Japanese then…"

He then approached a Policeman.

"Uhm… can you tell me where this address is?" He then asked in somewhat rough Japanese, showing the cop a paper written in the language.

"Oh… you English right?" the cop replied in rough English. "Take the ferry and ask over there…"

"Uhm… Thank you…" he could only bow and say that.

Meanwhile in another part of town, Kyla and Yuuno were doing shopping, with the boy doing most of the selections, because he knows more of Terran foodstuff than his mother- and that their supply of Midchildan imports were running out fast- just testing the culinary waters as the admiral quoted as she left the house.

"Here mother try this." Yuuno presented her with a sampler- on the stick was a piece of bacon.

Kyla tried it and a smile crept up her face.

"This is good… grab me a couple of packs then."

Yuuno obliged, taking two packs of bacon and placing it on the basket.

"Well my son, what time is it?"

"It's 10:55… why?"

"Well back home the stores always had time service… does it run true… here?"

Kyla's talking had been slowed by what she saw, a store attendant holding a plastic megaphone, walking towards a display stand full of vegetables.

"Yuuno… hold the basket." Kyla said in a low voice. "This will be a bit bloody…"

Fifteen minutes later… mother and son emerge from the store, with nine bags filled with groceries- most of them acquired thru a "bloody battle" with other shoppers- infact, only the bacon was the non-sale acquired item.

"Come on, let's go home…" Kyla could only say as they went towards a bus stop.

Back at the train station, the bus was sure taking long- to the foreigner- well he did not look at the timetable- and he did not notice the bus leaving a few minutes earlier. A minute later, another bus arrives and he manages to find a seat beside someone reading a newspaper and a young blonde boy, with grocery bags at their feet.

Back at the Scrya Residence…

"So, how are you guys?" Minerva asked. "I'm not asking much but those injuries were a bit severe at my standards."

Arisa glared at the three.

"We're okay now… seriously." Nanoha waved off.

"We're here to have fun, right guys?" Hayate then replied.

The other two nodded.

"Well your friends do mind what I said… sorry." Minerva then replied as she went back to the kitchen. "Chacha, can you be a dear and entertain your big sisters over there…"

Then, the child android appears ouf of the kitchen hallway and into the eyes of our group.

"Wow…" Suzuka commented.

"Chacha, over here…"

The child headed over to them and presented something.

"Lookie, lookie…" the child began to speak, presenting a folded paper flower. "Chacha made this…"

"That's nice…" Hayate commented.

"Well, since we are waiting, why don't we look around for a while…" Suzuka then suggested.

"Chacha wants to come too!" the child then replied.

"You guys can… we'll just call you when they come." Minerva replied from the kitchen.

And so the guys went out into the backyard. In the meantime, in another part of the city, the same girl that was spotted- yes, the one with bloody red hair tied in a single tail, was walking down towards a train station, ice cream on hand. Her clothing was different though, more white with red than her previous black.

"It's a bit too warm." She could ontl say as she licked the cold cream.

And back to the bus we return, where the bus had arrived at the ferry station. Kyla was about to pick up her part of the shopping when a hand stopped her.

"Pardon?" Kyla spoke.

"I must not let a lady carry heavy stuff around." The man who was at the same row as them who owned the hand replied.

"Tell me why a lady who is capable should let a stranger carry her stuff."

"Well all ladies need to be treated nicely, and a person of your calibre must be treated with respect, Admiral."

"Well, well, well… the only person who says those things is one who has not appeared in over a year now… Boomer."

"Reporting for duty 'mam."

"Good…" Kyla replied, closing her eyes. "You can start by carrying all the bags… Yuuno…"

As they exit the bus…

"Heavy…" the guy called Bomer could only comment, both hands fileld with bags.

"Is it okay?" Yuuno asked.

"Yes… if you act too out nice; that will happen to you." Kyla commented.

Back at the house…

"Okay guys." Minerva went out to the backyard. "They are at the ferry port now- better be ready."

And so the house began to settle itself for lunch, with the people inside setting the table and such. After a few minutes, the bell rang, Minerva answers and it was Kyla, Yuuno and the man named…

"Boomer!" the female android greeted happily. "We were expecting you…"

"Sorry for the delay…" Kyla then spoke. "It is ready?"

"Yes, and we have guests as well…"

Inside…

"Nanoha!" Yuuno almost exclaimed and quickly rushed to her side. "Are you okay, why did you come here?"

"I'm okay…" the girl replied. "And calm down."

"Okay… calming down… calming down…"

"More guests?" the guy named Boomer then appears and sits at a spot beside the table.

"Don't worry, they are in the know." Kyla replied, sitting at the head of the table.

"I see. Well then, allow me to introduce myself. Thomas Mcfarn, Callsign Boomer. Ship spotter. The Captain here took me in when I was fresh out of the academy."

Minerva comes in and places the last of the serving plates on the table and sits down.

"Thank you Minerva… and let's eat."

And so the group began to eat; mages, neutrals and even the two androids were eating.

"Uhm…" Nanoha simply looked at Minerva.

"Don't worry, she can eat normally." Kyla's voice came in mentally. "She's a Lost Logia herself remember, so it figures that she can eat- it's what I call… hmm… what was that word… ah! 'organoid'… an organic android."

Meanwhile somewhere in Midchilda… someone sneezes.

"Are you okay Subaru?" a purple-haired girl with long hair tied by two ribbons asked a much younger, more tomboyish girl.

The younger girl nodded.

Back at the house…

"Well Captain, how does it taste?" Minerva then asked.

"It's improved… you have been learning." Kyla commented.

"Well, this I just learned from the local network…" the android then replied. "Earth is very diverse for such an area- usually one planet usually is singular in many aspects."

"Yes… but alike in many aspects as well… like food." Kyla added.

Arisa and Suzuka munched on.

"So, why did you guys came here anyway?" Kyla then asked. "Vacation? If it is so, good… we have a lot of rooms here…"

"Uhm, we were actually about to stay at another place- since we were part of a group." Arisa then spoke.

"No problem… they can st-"

"Captain, I strongly suggest against it- they are pure neutrals and may be shocked." Boomer suddenly butted in mentally.

"Okay…" Kyla quickly replied back in the same line and quickly made changes to the flow of speech. "-ay at the nearby lodges and you two can stay in with the girls here."

"No thank you…" Arisa then continued, as her eyes pointed to Yuuno. "We might disturb… certain things here…"

"Well then… wait here while I get some dessert."

While Kyla went into the kitchen to get dessert- and by a matter of convenience Nanoha following her, Arisa eyes Yuuno suspiciously, making said librarian nervous.

"Yuuno huh?" Arisa began. "Tell me, how long you have known Nanoha?"

"Long time…" the boy nervously spoke.

"About her abilites?"

"Long time…"

"She's grilling you boy…" Boomer spoke by mental line.

Fate and Hayate look on apprehensively.

"I head from Nanoha once that someone with your name discovered her abilities- which is coincidentally the name she had given to a ferret that we have picked up years back…" Arisa continued. "Who are you?"

"I'm perfectly normal!" the boy suddenly spoke. "I'm not someone who can transform into a ferret and other related creatures!!!"

"Arisa, don't crack any of Nanoha's friends… they're our friends too you know…" Suzuka interrupted.

Arisa suddenly laughs.

"Don't take it seriously… come on…"

The rest breathed relief.

"Any friends of Nanoha are our friends as well…" Arisa then spoke. "Right Suzuka?"

Suzuka could only nod. Meanwhile at the kitchen, Nanoha was already putting out a tray while Kyla looked in the fridge.

"Where were those pudding cups?" Kyla asked as she looked at shelf after shelf in the somewhat oversized refrigeration device. "These Terran refrigerators are a pain…"

"They're over here…"

"Thanks…"

And so, Kyla began to set pudding into individual servings.

"Well… do you mind me asking a question?" The admiral then began to speak. "I've really wanted to ask about you evaluation about Yuuno- as a person."

"That… I don't know." Nanoha replied slowly. "For now."

"I see… he does invoke a sense of uncertainty… but when he gets certain, he's the kind that can change things quickly and on a massive scale."

"Well he is…" Nanoha then replied.

"Eh… So, how do you think of him, as a man?"

"As a man?" Nanoha suddenly gulped.

"Well, I'd better not ask that for the time being…" Kyla then replied, placing the pudding cups on the tray.

Nighttime. The girls were out on the beach while Yuuno was out in the yard, Minerva was putting Chacha to sleep and The two oldest, Boomer and Kyla, were playing Terran Chess, much to Kyla's dislike and inexperience.

"Well… this is new to me… I'd rather prefer playing arcade shooters…"

"Well, why not a break then?" Kyla puffed. "I'm tired and the girls will be arriving… and not to mention a festival will be here in a few days."

"Festival… that's good." Boomer replied, I've always wanted to check a festival here in Japan."

"Speaking of checking out; how's your family?"

"Well, so-so… still the typical Terran family I grew up with. And as constant as the proverbial English Summer, they are still trying to ask me some things."

"A wife?" Kyla asked.

"Yes, among other things. And they now asked the one thing I did not expect- when I should be back. I heard from Minerva the details of the current mission. Those three girls huh?"

"Two from this very city and one from Mid…"

"That figures. There is high amounts of energy here- I can feel it." Boomer commented.

"That would be the latent energy from the last battle."

"Latent? But that means…"

"No barrier to isolate the rest from harm. Priority is the safety of Earth and the citizens… so I've already ordered a global energy scan of the planet. And also, if battles are to be fought, it should be off-planet as often as possible- we don't want another Ritardia happening here."

The two are overcame with silence as the girls returned. Meanwhile, Minerva was once again in the room of the 'patient', changing his already dried towel. But just as she placed a fresh towel on his head, he began to stir.

"Oh my… Admiral!"

Kyla entered the room and closed it.

"How's he?" Kyla asked as she took out a pocket light.

"His eyes are opening, but he's not responding."

"Oh really?" the admiral then asked, powering the light and shining it into one of the barely open eyes, evoking a twitch.

"Bright…" came the mumbled, and low reply.

"Good…"

Two days later, Haruhi Island Festival.

While the entire island enjoyed the festival, the personalities, minus the silver haired guy and his companions and the mysterious girl, from the garden appear overhead.

"Are you sure this is the place, Aranth?" Rein asked as they looked down at the cross-shaped island.

"I can feel it… that pulse… that heartbeat…"

Meanwhile, on the ground, Kyla, with some help from the three, was trying to get some favors from the temple deity. As the three went on ahead, Kyla sensed something.

"Something is wrong here… but what?"

Deep inside the shrine where she was infront at… something was stirring… an unusual sound… an unusual cross shaped glint was shining inside, slowly beating… slowly glowing.


End file.
